See You In The Fall
by QueenOfTheCastle1021
Summary: This is just my take on how Season Three may start. I've decided to write the case in to this story, which is my first time doing so, so I hope it turns out okay! The final chapter is up and the story / episode is now complete!
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's Note: This story is my take on the season three premiere, picking up the story in the fall in real-time. I always appreciate reviews and any comments you can give me, so go ahead and speak your mind!**_

Chapter One

Beckett slowly stirred from her sleep. She took a deep breath, taking in the crisp morning air, and smiled as she felt his warm arm wrap around from behind her.

"Good morning, detective." He whispered into her ear, before placing few gentle kisses on her neck.

Beckett turned herself to face him, smiling as they locked eyes. "Good morning, Castle."

"You know," Castle smirked, "I think we officially know each other well enough for you to start calling me 'Rick' when we're off the clock." He joked, studying her reaction before continuing, "Or 'Ricky', or 'Richard'… maybe even 'Big Rick'?"

Beckett laughed and replied, "How about 'Kitten'?" She smirked, victorious, as Castle shook his head in defeat.

"Well, 'Castle' it is…" He smiled as he continued, "Actually, it does sound kind of hot when you say it."

Beckett chuckled. "Really?" She asked, sarcastically, as she inched closer to him.

"Really." Castle replied, as his hand moved from her side and up into her hair, brushing a strand away from her face as he leaned in towards her.

He kissed her, almost as gently as the soft morning breeze that wafted in through the window, but with so much passion and feeling behind it that her heart instantly melted. She swore she could even hear a faint ringing in her ears.

She smiled as he pulled back away, locking eyes with her once again. _I could definitely get used to this_, she thought to herself as she leaned back in to him.

Their lips met once again, softly at first. Beckett swore she heard that ringing in her ears again and was amazed at the effect her had on her with such a simple kiss.

As each of them surrendered themselves to each other, their kiss deepened. The ringing in her ears got louder, distracting her somewhat.

Castle felt her attention slipping away, so he pulled her even closer to him as he gently ran his hands across her arms, coaxing her back into the passion of their kiss.

She responded in kind, returning her full attention to him and running her hands over his chest and shoulders. But the ringing just got louder.

Suddenly, Beckett's brow furrowed as she realized what it was…

The detective woke with a start, propping herself up on her elbows as she tried to regain control over her breathing. She looked around her empty room, as if to prove to herself that it had all just been a dream. It seemed she had done the same thing many mornings over the past few months, each time hoping that maybe it would be real, though it never was.

Beckett looked over at her ringing cell phone. _Well, THAT'S real, at least_… she thought to herself as she reached across to her nightstand to grab it.

"Beckett" she answered. "Thanks, I'm on my way."

Beckett snapped the phone shut and closed her eyes, breathing in a sharp sigh. She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the memories of her dream before jumping out of bed to get ready for the day, and the obvious case, ahead.


	2. Chapter 2

_**I'm taking my first stab at writing an actual murder investigation in here, so I have started it off in this chapter. It's loosely based on an old script of mine from many, many years ago. I apologize if it doesn't work too well for the story, as it's obviously going to a challenge to rewrite my original murder-mystery into my Castle-based storyline, but it should prove to be at least somewhat interesting and hopefully it works out nicely in the end.**_

_**As always, reviews are welcomed, whether good or bad!**_

Chapter Two

The sun was barely rising beyond the city skyline as Beckett pulled up to the yellow police tape sectioned off outside of the gates of a stately manor, not the typical crime scene she was used to seeing. She could already see the victim on the ground just inside of the gate, with Lanie doing her usual investigation of the body. She parked her car and got out.

"What've we got?" She asked a waiting Esposito and Ryan as they walked with her towards the gate.

Esposito pointed towards the body inside the gate. "Vic number one is a young male, looks to be in his early twenties, no ID on the body but we're pretty sure he's got some inside the house."

Beckett stopped, her brow furrowed already. "Vic number one?" She asked.

"Yup. One of four, to be exact." Ryan replied. "Two inside and two on the property."

Beckett shook her head and exhaled deeply, remembering how much she hated these multiple-murder cases. "We never get the easy ones, do we?"

Ryan and Esposito laughed as they followed her back up towards the gate. Uniformed officers opened the gate for them as Kate flashed her badge.

Beckett approached the body, studying the young man on the ground as she addressed the M.E. "Hey Lanie, what can you tell me about this guy?"

Lanie stood up and replied, "He put up quite a fight here. Multiple blows to the head, more than likely the COD, but he's got some prominent bruising on his arms and chest as well." She pointed at the handcuff on his right hand. "Uniforms say he was chained to the gate, like he was left here for dead."

Beckett noticed his blood-stained shirt. "Stab wounds?" She asked.

"No, that's the weird part." Lanie replied, a puzzled look on her face. "There's not even a cut or scratch on him to indicate where the blood came from. It might not be his. I'll know more once we get him to the lab and get it tested."

Beckett looked up and scoured the rest of the scene. "And the other three bodies?"

Esposito pointed towards the house. "Two inside the house in separate bedrooms. One female, found with a letter opener in her back. One male, hung from the ceiling fan."

"The fourth one is out back, thrown through a stained-glass window from the second floor." Ryan continued.

Beckett shook her head again before handing out her instructions. "Okay, let's go check it out so they can get them all back to the lab." She looked over at her friend. "Thanks, Lanie, let me know what you find."

Lanie nodded as the detective started to walk towards the house. She gently put her hand on Beckett's shoulder to hold her back as Ryan and Esposito continued walking. "Hey girl, how are you holding up?"

Kate saw the genuine concern on Lanie's face, but avoided her stare as best she could. "I'm fine." She knew she didn't sound as convincing as she had hoped.

Lanie raised her eyebrow at her friend. "You're not fine. You've been moping around all summer."

Beckett rolled her eyes. "Really, Lanie, I'm fine."

"You know he's coming home today, don't you?" Lanie asked, knowing from the way that Kate clenched her jaw at the comment that she knew. "So what are you going to do about it?"

Beckett summoned all of her wits and looked back at her friend. "I'm going to go do my job, Lanie." She noticed the M.E. wince a bit at her snide remark and immediately regretted it. "I'm sorry, I'm just a little tired this morning and I don't want to get into this here, okay?"

"Whatever you say, girl…" Lanie replied, smiling at Kate to let her know that she was supporting her in whatever way she had to.

Beckett smiled back as she turned to head up to the house. "Thanks, Lanie."

Lanie grinned as she looked back at the clipboard in her hand, jotting down a few last notes on the case as she called out to her friend. "But you know, you'd sleep a heck of a lot better if you stopped dreaming about him."

Kate stopped in her tracks and squeezed her eyes shut. _How did she know?_ She thought to herself. Without even having to look her way, Lanie knew exactly what her words had done to her. She chucked to herself as she continued. "Or, better yet, if you just did whatever it was that you did with him in those dreams… bet you'd sleep like a baby then, girl."

Beckett shook her head, trying to hold back the grin that came over her at Lanie's suggestion. She continued her mission up to the house as she yelled back, jokingly. "Shut up, Lanie!"

The M.E. laughed to herself. She looked down at the lifeless body on the ground below her. "Yeah, and you thought you had problems…"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Beckett sat on her desk, staring intently at the already-packed murder board in front of her. It was barely ten o'clock in the morning but it had seemed like such a long day already. The crime scene was a tough one to sift through, lots of belongings of each of the victims, lots of pieces that could be evidence but could also just be nothing at all, and four very different yet similarly gruesome murders to investigate.

Esposito and Ryan returned from the break-room with coffees in hand. Esposito handed one to Beckett and she sipped at it, letting the liquid inside immediately perk up her senses.

"Six friends book a rental house together," Beckett started, running down the list of what they knew for her partners, trying to get the wheels turning. "Four of them wind up dead, two go missing."

Ryan nodded. "Uniforms are searching the area for them. Maybe they've got the answers for us."

"If they're alive." Esposito chimed in.

"Or maybe they did it." Beckett added. "We won't know until we find them. But we can't wait around for that either, so let's start with what we know and go from there."

Ryan looked over at the murder board. "You know who would love this case?"

Beckett rolled her eyes, knowing exactly where Ryan was going with this and not wanting to let her mind wander to him right now. As if on cue, a familiar voice replied from behind them. "It's definitely the best 'welcome home' gift ever!"

Esposito and Ryan spun around at the sound of their friend's voice. Beckett froze, back still turned, as she tried to compose herself, so many conflicting thoughts flooding her mind.

The three men behind her celebrated their reunion, causing Kate to turn around and laugh. "You guys are worse than a bunch of five-year-olds on Christmas morning…" She quipped, glad for the chance to use humour to help her hide the conflicting feelings that were tearing her apart.

The guys separated, realizing the scene they were causing in the middle of the bullpen. Castle smiled and looked at Beckett, not at all surprised at how good it felt to see her again. "Hi" was about all he was able to mutter, his words suddenly escaping him.

Beckett smiled back, against her own will, before replying. "Hi, Castle."

The two shared a locked gaze for what seemed like forever to them. In reality, it was only mere seconds before Esposito broke the silence. "Bro, you got here faster than I thought you would."

Castle grinned, feeling more at home than he imagined he would. "Actually, I came back home late last night. I heard about the case on the news this morning and I just _knew_ it was one of ours…"

"Ours?" Kate sarcastically snapped back, challenging him. Just like old times.

Instinctively, Castle took the bait and followed their usual routine. "Well, I do have two more books to write…"

"Don't remind me." Beckett scoffed, turning back to the murder board. She waited a second before scooting over on her desk to make some room. "You might as well have a seat, Castle… you have a lot to catch up on." She said as she nodded at the murder board.

Castle grinned and sat down beside her. She blindly offered him the half-a-cup of coffee that she had left, causing him to smile even more as he took a sip. Kate forced away the smile that was creeping up on her as she focused on the case and started to get Castle up to speed on it.

Ryan and Esposito shared a knowing glance towards each other, both grinning from ear to ear as they looked on at the pair in front of them.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Thanks for all of the reviews so far, I truly appreciate all of your comments! I usually write these stories as if each chapter is its own scene, but I will try to update with new chapters faster to keep the flow of the story going.**_

_**Here's where we start to get into a little more of the Castle/Beckett storyline, which is what I enjoy writing the most, so I hope you like it!**_

Chapter Four

Beckett refilled her coffee cup and leaned against the counter in the break-room as Castle made himself his own coffee as well. Ryan and Esposito were no longer with them, and the silence at first felt awkward to both of them.

"So, Castle, this seems to be your type of case…" Beckett started, trying to break the obvious tension. "Any thoughts at this point?"

Castle considered her question for a moment before replying. "Usually, I'd say a massacre like this had to be planned." He looked over at Beckett before continuing. "But there was something so random about the murders themselves."

Kate nodded her agreement. "None of it makes much sense." She took a sip of her coffee and continued. "Hopefully Ryan and Esposito get something from the families of the victims."

"Yeah, or of the two others who are still missing." Castle added. "There's definitely a story here, we just need to piece it together."

Beckett's brow furrowed at the thought. "Yeah, too bad nobody's going to have a happy ending in this story…"

Castle looked over at Beckett, who avoided his stare. "Speaking of stories…" He began. "Did you get the advanced copy of 'Naked Heat' that I sent you?"

Beckett winced slightly at the change in conversation. She made her way out of the break-room and over to her desk as she replied. "Yeah, I did." She paused slightly as Castle sat at his chair beside her desk. She kept her stare focused on the paperwork in front of her as she continued. "Thank you for that, by the way."

"So what did you think of it?" Castle asked, staring intently at her, trying to read her expression.

Kate considered his question, not sure how to respond. Truthfully, she hadn't been able to put it down. It made her feel oddly like he was still there while she was reading it, and it eased her heartbreak slightly. She had been captivated by the words on the page, feeling so much more wrapped up in the story than she had with 'Heat Wave', possibly because she now saw what Castle saw. The way that Nikki always tried to push Rook away, the way that Schlemming entered the picture and became an obstacle that they had to overcome, and the way that Rook never gave up on Nikki, no matter how hard she tried to shake him. Part of her wished that Castle hadn't given up so easily, that he had fought as hard as Rook had, but she knew he thought she was pushing him away, just as Nikki had. That very thought broke her heart even more. Still, there was something so hopeful about the book and where Castle chose to go with the story.

As much as she wanted to tell him how much it had affected her, she knew she couldn't go there with him, not now. He could very well still be with Gina for all she knew. Or, at the very least, the feelings he once had for her had probably died away by now. Either way, she wasn't ready to put herself out there like she had intended to all those months ago.

Instead, she answered simply, "It was good, Castle. Very entertaining." She instantly regretted her response, but she knew she couldn't give him more than that just yet.

Castle seemed a little taken aback by her comment and her tone. He had hoped it would have sparked a little more of a reaction from her. "I'm glad you liked it..." He responded, almost in a questioning tone.

There was another awkward silence between them before Castle got up the nerve to ask what he had been dying to ask her all along. "So… did Demming read it too?"

Beckett froze, not sure how to respond. She was hoping he wouldn't ask about Tom, but she wasn't sure how she expected him not to, at least at some point. "Don't you mean _Schlemming_?" She asked, resorting to humour again to ease the tension before she continued, "I don't think he would have appreciated his role in your book."

Castle grinned. "Most people would be honoured to have a character based on them…"

"You made him a dirty cop in the end, Castle!" Beckett replied, finally looking up at him, eyebrow arched as she did so well.

Castle chuckled to himself. "Too cliché?" He asked, glad for the relief from the tension between them.

Beckett nodded and turned back to her paperwork, smiling slightly as she did. Seeing her smile again gave Castle a reason to smile as well. He realized how much he missed that.

"So, the book release party is coming up in a few days…" Castle started, somewhat nervous all of a sudden.

Beckett looked up at him, noticing the look on his face, and she couldn't help but grin.

Castle looked back at her as he continued, "You're coming to it, aren't you?" He realized he sounded a little more hopeful than he intended.

Kate mockingly rolled her eyes as she replied. "Do I really have a choice?" She laughed before she continued. "Yes, of course I'll be there, Castle."

Castle smiled, causing Beckett's heart to skip a beat. She hated how he could still have that affect on her. His smile faded slightly as he tentatively asked his next question. "So will Tom be joining you? I mean, should I put you down as a 'plus one'?"

Beckett tore her eyes away from his gaze, looking back down at her paperwork while searching for the answer she wanted to give to that question.

Castle studied her reaction, slightly puzzled by it, dying to hear her answer.

Kate kept her gaze focused on the papers on her desk as she opened her mouth to respond. Before she could, a familiar ringing broke the tense silence. She almost jumped out of her seat at the sound, reaching down to answer her phone.

"Beckett." She answered into the phone, Castle watching her as she listened intently to the person on the other end of the line. "Thanks, Lanie, we'll be right down."

Beckett closed her phone and looked back at Castle as she rose from her chair, glad for the interruption. "That was Lanie, she's got something for us. Let's go."

Castle rose from his chair and followed Beckett out of the bullpen and towards the elevator, hoping he'd get the chance to get the answer to his question later on.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Whew, this turned out to be a pretty long chapter… there's a lot more case-related material here to go through, so I hope it doesn't take away too much from the rest of the story in this scene.**_

_**Reviews are appreciated, as always!**_

Chapter Five

Lanie stood over a body in the morgue, the same body that was first discovered at the crime scene. A young man, athletic and clean-cut, with sandy blonde hair. She continued making notes on her clipboard when the door to the morgue opened.

Beckett entered the room with Castle following closely behind her. "Hey Lanie, what've you got for us?"

Lanie looked up, her interest piqued by the word 'us'. She smirked when she saw Castle. _As if this day couldn't get any more interesting…_ she thought to herself. "Well, well, well, look what the tide washed up."

"Ouch, and here I was, thinking you missed me, Lanie." Castle replied, clutching his chest, feigning heartache.

"Actually, Castle, it hasn't quite been the same around here without you." Lanie said, smiling at the writer. "I think everyone here missed you…" She continued, raising an eyebrow and looking towards Beckett to gauge her reaction.

Castle grinned at the comment. "Well, it's definitely good to be home, back amongst the real people." He started, turning his attention to the victim on the table in front of them. "Even the stiffs."

Lanie and Castle shared a laugh between them. Beckett rolled her eyes and leaned in towards them, attempting to regain their attention. "Speaking of stiffs…" Once Castle and Lanie turned their attention back to Beckett, she nodded at the victim on the table.

"Right." Lanie said, composing herself again to reveal her findings. "Well, victim number one here is Christopher Conner. 22-year-old male. Estimated time of death puts him as our last victim at the scene, died sometime fairly early in the morning, maybe just hours before he was found."

"He was the one that was handcuffed to the gates?" Castle asked, more so trying to prove that he had paid attention when Beckett ran through the details of the case earlier.

"Yeah, but there's no signs of struggle on his wrist, so he was likely either dead or dying when they cuffed him." Lanie replied, showing Castle and Beckett the victim's wrist as she explained herself.

Beckett pointed at the bruising on his chest and arms. "Looks like he put up quite a fight before that, though."

"These marks on his arms could be from someone grabbing him, hard…" Castle chimed in, putting his own hands over the marks, as if measuring them.

"Yeah, and the marks on his chest are consistent with the bars on the gate." Lanie offered, causing Beckett's brow to furrow.

"Like someone pushed him into it during the struggle…" Kate commented. "What about the blood he had all over his shirt?"

"Fake." Lanie replied, causing both Castle and Beckett to turn their attention to her simultaneously.

"Fake?" Castle asked, grinning to himself. "Best case ever."

Beckett shook her head at the writer and looked back down at the body while she addressed Lanie again. "So what was the COD?"

Lanie pointed out some bruising and a gash on the victim's head. "Blunt-force trauma to the head…" She paused once to give Beckett a chance to look at the wounds. "Two strong blows to the same area, not too long after each other. Minutes, I'd say, based on the bruising…" She paused again when she noticed Beckett's brow furrowing already before she continued. "The weird thing is, the blows were from two different objects."

Beckett remained where she was, hunched over the body, but turned her head to face Lanie. "Any idea what he was hit with?"

"The second object was probably a large rock. There was one not far from the body at the crime scene. The lab's testing the blood on it to see if it's a match, but based on the bruising and the gash here on his head, I'd say it's a pretty good bet that was your murder weapon." Lanie started. "The other one would have been something much smaller, but still strong enough to do some serious damage, probably enough to knock him out for a minute or two. The bruising is pretty severe from that first blow, but there are no contusions or other marks from it."

"Probably something smooth, then, maybe rounded, like a pipe?" Castle asked, trying to come up with some ideas. "Or a candlestick!"

"This isn't 'Clue', Castle…" Beckett replied, sarcastically, as she moved away from the body. She looked at Lanie. "So we've got a guy who was beat up pretty bad, handcuffed to a gate and left to die, while covered in fake blood. I can't wait to see what the other three vics are like…" There was that sarcasm again.

Lanie looked at both Beckett and Castle and started over towards the next body. "Actually, the other three are pretty straight-forward." She said as she waited for the other two to join her.

Castle pouted and Beckett had to force away the grin that came across her face, glaring her disapproval at him. Lanie looked on, examining the pair in front of her like she would one of the bodies on her table.

"Vic number two. Jessica Sutton. Female, 22 years-old." She started, pointing down at the young woman on the table. She was striking, even in death, with long, blonde hair and picture-perfect features.

"Sutton…" Castle cut in, a puzzled look on his face. "Why does that name sound familiar?"

"Daughter of James and Catherine Sutton, two of the most high-profile lawyers in the city." Beckett chimed in.

Lanie continued with her findings. "Well, Ms. Sutton here died of a single stab wound to the back. Severed her spinal cord and punctured a lung." She said, turning the body over slightly so Beckett could examine the wound in her back

Beckett grimaced at the thought. "At least she wouldn't have suffered much." She paused slightly before continuing. "And the murder weapon?"

Lanie handed Beckett an evidence bag that was lying on a cart beside the table. "Letter opener. We found her in one of the upstairs rooms, covered with a sheet, with this sticking out of her back."

Beckett studied the letter opener while Castle whistled. "The fear of every postal worker in America…" Beckett rolled her eyes at him again and put the evidence bag back. "Well, that and dogs…" Castle continued.

"Time of death?" Beckett prompted Lanie, trying to ignore Castle's comments.

"She would have been your first vic, killed a half a day before any of the others." Lanie replied, before she moved over to the next table, another victim laying on it.

This one was another young man, this one slightly smaller than the first victim and a little scruffier. His short, curly dark hair met with a thin layer of stubble that spread across his chin and cheeks.

"Vic number three." Lanie started as Castle and Beckett joined her. "Thomas Scott. 22-year-old male." She pointed at the bruising around the victim's neck.

"Strangled?" Castle asked.

Lanie nodded. "Yeah, hung from a ceiling fan in one of the rooms." She held up another evidence bag with a long piece of rope, tied into a noose.

"And you said this wasn't 'Clue' detective." Castle quipped. "Seriously, though, best case ever."

Beckett glared at him. "Any signs of struggle?" She asked Lanie.

"Just the regular marks on his hands from tugging at the rope." She replied. "Aside from that, nothing."

"And his time of death?" Beckett asked.

Lanie looked back at her and replied. "He's your second vic, killed roughly thirteen or fourteen hours after the first one, and maybe a couple of hours before the next…" She trailed off as she made her way to the last victim, laying on yet another table.

Another young woman. She was a pretty girl, more plain-looking than the other one, with short brown hair and a lithe frame. She had multiple cuts all over her face and body with plenty of bruising and swelling as well.

Castle shuddered when he saw the young woman so badly wounded. Whenever he saw a lifeless body like this, so young still and with so much life robbed from her, he couldn't help but think of Alexis.

"Nicole Sampson." Lanie continued. "Female, also 22-years old."

Beckett ran her gloved fingers over the wounds on the victim's body. "She's the one who was thrown through the window." She said, more of a statement than a question.

"A stained-glass window, to be exact." Lanie stated. "Multiple wounds from the shattered glass, nearly every bone broken in her body from the fall, but she would have died on impact from that height."

"Any signs of a struggle?" Castle was the first to ask.

Lanie shook her head as she replied. "It's too hard to tell with all of the other wounds from the fall and the broken glass. I may be able to get a better idea once the swelling goes down, but it'll still be tough."

Beckett backed away from the table and moved so she could easily look around the room at the four victims. Castle and Lanie both watched her as she seemed to be trying to piece the puzzle together in her mind.

"So Jessica is stabbed with a letter opener late one night in her room…" She starts, pointing at the first victim.

Castle joins in. "Thomas is hung with a rope later the next day in another room…"

"Then, Nicole is shoved through the upstairs hallway window that same night." Beckett continues.

Castle finishes their timeline off. "And Chris tries to get away but is beaten up and left for dead before he can get past the gate."

Lanie watches as the pair in front of her finish their theorizing, smiling the whole time.

Beckett and Castle look at each other, both with the same puzzled look on their face. They reply at the same time "but none of it makes any sense."

They held their gaze for a few minutes. Beckett found it almost comforting, knowing that Castle always got how troubled a case like this would make her. Lanie looked on in silence, taking in the look that the pair in front of her were sharing and grinning at them.

The ringing of Castle's phone broke the silence. He looked down at the caller ID and excused himself, leaving Beckett and Lanie alone together as he rushed out of the room to answer it. "Castle." They heard, faintly, as he exited the room.

Beckett kept her gaze on the door as if trying to figure out who that was that had just called him. Lanie noticed and piped up. "So, it looks like you two haven't wasted any time…" She tossed a suggestive glance over at her friend.

Beckett shrugged the comment off. "Nothing's changed, Lanie, and we do still have to work together on the case."

Lanie studied Kate's expression, seeing the hurt still very evident in her friend's eyes. "You were so close, though, girl. Why not just tell him how much you missed him? Take that first step and see where it goes."

Beckett kept her gaze towards the floor, unable to look Lanie in the eyes. "It's not that easy, Lanie." She started. "Listen, I don't blame him for leaving. He did what he had to do…"

"Exactly." Lanie cut in.

Beckett continued. "But the fact still remains that he left. With his ex-wife, no less." She worked hard to choke back the tears that were threatening to reveal themselves as she remembered the night he left. "For all I know, they could still be together…" Her voice trailed off.

Lanie moved closer to her friend and put a sympathetic hand on her shoulder, surprised that Kate was allowing it. "But he's here with you right now, girl. And I can see that spark still there."

"Yeah, well, he didn't even call, Lanie. Not once…" She started again, this time looking up at her friend and letting herself drop her guard a bit. She knew she could trust Lanie, just as she had trusted her all summer when she was at her lowest points. "How much could he have really cared if he was able to walk away and not even tried to look back?"

Lanie could see the pain in her friend's eyes and could hear the sorrow in her voice. She had never seen Kate as troubled as she had been over the summer, and she wished she could do something to help her. But she was sure there was still something between these two and she knew they just needed to figure that out for themselves again. She knew better than to force the issue, to _tell_ Kate what she needed to know or see. Instead, she just tried to be there to support her.

"So what are you going to do, Kate?" Lanie asked, trying to get Beckett to at least admit to herself that something needed to be done.

Beckett shook her head and took a few moments to try to find the answer in her mind. "I'm not sure, Lanie…"

The two friends moved away from each other as they heard the door opening again. Beckett composed herself as Castle entered the room, noticing the tension as he approached them. He looked at Kate, who was focused very much on the ground at that moment, and then looked at Lanie, who was revealing a lot to him with her concerned expression.

Knowing better than to pry, Castle simply said, "That was Paula, my agent. Just working out the details for the book release party." He looked back at Lanie as he continued. "Which, I hope, you plan on coming to, of course."

Lanie smiled at him and replied. "I wouldn't miss it, Castle."

Beckett shook her head to clear out all thoughts not related to the case at hand and looked around one more time at the victims. "Alright, let's see if Ryan and Esposito are back and see what they've got."

She started walking towards the door and then stopped and turned back to Lanie. "And thanks, Lanie." She smiled at her friend, knowing there was much more to that thank you than just being about the evidence review.

"Anytime, girl." Lanie smiled back.

Castle looked, questioningly, over at Lanie as Beckett continued out of the room. Lanie just shook her head at the writer and gestured for him to run along. Knowing better than to push Lanie, Castle obliged and ran off after Beckett.

Lanie laughed to herself, or maybe a bit to the bodies surrounding her. "We may have to start a new pool for those two…"


	6. Chapter 6

_**More case-related details to get through in this chapter, but there will also be some more of the personal storyline revealed here too. For those of you who are more interested in the relationship storyline, stay tuned for Chapter Eight! Until then, I think we all know that Castle and Beckett have quite the case on their hands to deal with first…**_

Chapter Six

Castle and Beckett studied the murder board. Their timeline was now clearly written out across the bottom, pictures of each of the four victims and the two missing people splayed out across the white board with details of each of the murders written out beside the pictures. A couple of seconds of silence passed by before Ryan and Esposito joined their partners.

"So, what did you find out?" Beckett asked them.

Ryan shook his head. "Not much."

"The families gave us the same basic story." Esposito continued. "The vics were all friends, pretty tight since high school. They won tickets to some murder-mystery getaway for the week."

"Correct me if I'm wrong," Castle started, sarcastically. "But people aren't actually supposed to be murdered at these things."

Ryan chimed in, "Apparently they are at the fake kind."

Beckett's brow furrowed. "Fake? Like someone set it up?"

"Yeah," Esposito started, handing Beckett an evidence bag with a journal inside. "This was found at the scene, in one of the rooms."

Beckett studied the journal, opening it up and looking at the inside cover. "It belonged to Jessica, the first vic." She said, curiously.

"The last entry in it is from the night she died." Ryan started, flipping the book to the last entry to show Beckett. "Her and Chris set up the whole thing…"

Castle stood directly behind Beckett, reading the journal entry over her shoulder. She froze, moving only her eyes to glance over at him, obviously thrown by his closeness.

"They were trying to break up this couple." Castle said, pointing at the page before continuing, "The two who are missing right now. Wow, how budding sociopaths of them…"

"Actually," Esposito corrected him. "The missing 'couple' aren't even a couple. At least, not according to their families."

"Yeah, Angela Porter and Sean Michaels." Ryan filled in. "According to both families, the two of them are pretty much best friends, have been for years."

Esposito looked over at Castle and Beckett, still standing far closer than necessary. "Although, everyone figured they'd get together eventually." He shot Ryan a knowing glance and Ryan nodded back at him.

Beckett picked up on the silent signal between the two partners and moved herself away from Castle, putting the evidence bag with the journal on her desk as she turned to the murder board.

"So Chris and Jessica set up the whole thing, but she gets discouraged and wants to back out. The last thing she says in her journal is that she's waiting to meet with Chris." Beckett said, as if thinking out-loud.

"And we found the journal in his room." Esposito added.

Ryan chimed in. "We confirmed with the rental company for the house. Chris booked the week-long vacation, paid with his own credit card."

"Everything points to him as our guy." Esposito concluded.

Castle shook his head. "Except for the fact that he's dead too."

"And it's too easy." Beckett said. "There's more to this one, I know there is. None of it feels planned."

"Well, the lab's running the prints from the murder weapons." Esposito started. "The letter opener, the rope, and the rock."

"We should have the results back tomorrow, they said." Ryan filled in.

Beckett's phone rang and she grabbed it quickly. "Beckett." She said into the phone as she walked away to the break-room.

The guys watched her go before starting up their own conversation.

"Okay, bro, so fill us in." Esposito started. "How was your summer in the Hamptons?"

"Yeah, bikini babes on the beach and sipping margaritas on the porch all day?" Ryan added. "I wish I was there!"

Castle chuckled. "Actually, it wasn't that interesting. Mostly just writing and rewriting all summer."

Ryan and Esposito frowned at him, looking disappointed that he didn't have any juicy stories for him. After a minute, Esposito shot him a mischievous grin. "Yeah, but at least your smokin' ex-wife was there for some fun in your off-time."

Ryan grinned along with him, adding, "Better than us chasing suspects all summer."

Castle shook his head. "Sorry to ruin your dreams, guys, but Gina kept me busy writing and talking about promoting the book, that's all." He frowned at the thought. "She reminded me pretty quickly why I divorced her in the first place." He paused before finishing. "And when the book was done, she climbed back on her broomstick and flew back to the city."

Ryan and Esposito laughed. "Sorry to hear that, bro." Esposito said.

"Well, we missed you around here, partner." Ryan added.

Castle smiled. "So, what did I miss this summer?" He asked.

"Not much." Esposito replied. "Just the same old routine."

"Yeah, except without you here to argue with, Beckett just pushed us around instead." Ryan commented, laughing.

Castle smirked. "I would have thought she'd have mellowed out after all of those romantic summer nights with Demming." He said, somewhat sarcastically.

Ryan looked at Castle with a puzzled look. "She didn't tell you?"

Esposito shot Ryan a cautionary look, as if to tell him to drop it. Castle looked at both of the detectives questioningly.

"Tell me what?" He asked, his interest now clearly piqued.

"Nothing." Esposito started to say, just as Ryan piped up, "Her and Demming broke up."

Esposito looked back at Ryan again, shaking his head. Ryan just shrugged, not cluing in.

Castle looked over at Beckett, still on the phone in the break-room. "No, she didn't tell me." He said, the idea seeming a bit surreal to him. "When? How?" He was trying to make sense of it in his own head, and the words just weren't coming out right just yet.

Ryan opened his mouth to answer, but Esposito cut him off. "So, your book release party is in a couple of days?" He asked, trying to change the subject.

Castle's attention was still on Beckett, but the question slowly brought him back to the conversation. "Yeah, you guys are coming, right?" He asked, looking back over at his partners.

"Wouldn't miss it, bro." Esposito said, smiling.

"Miss what?" Beckett asked, finally returning to the group.

"Castle's book release party." Ryan answered. "I can't wait!"

Beckett smirked at her team. As much as she liked to nag them about being like a bunch of ten-year-old girls, she secretly loved how close they were. Still, she couldn't help but make a joke. "So are you guys meeting at Castle's to get your hair and make-up done before the party, or what?"

Esposito shook his head at the joke and Castle frowned.

Beckett used the silence to get back to the case again. "So they found our two missing people." She paused, letting the information sink in to her partners.

"Where?" Castle asked.

Beckett continued. "Turns out they'd passed out at the side of the road a ways away from the house, probably from their injuries and exhaustion. A passerby found them the next morning and brought them to the hospital to recover."

"So they're both okay?" Esposito asked.

"Yeah." Beckett responded. "Uniforms are bringing them in for questioning as we speak."

"We'll notify the families that they're okay and that they're on the way here." Ryan offered, taking Esposito with him.

Beckett looked at Castle, who had been looking at her oddly the whole time. She was somewhat thrown by the look on his face. "What?" She asked.

"Nothing." He said, still not being able to get rid of the smile on his face.

Beckett looked at him with curiosity and then tentatively turned and headed back to the break-room with Castle following closely behind her.

"So…" Castle started. "What were you planning on wearing to the party?" He asked, rather suggestively.

"Wouldn't you like to know." Beckett responded.

Castle paused for a second before replying. "Actually, I would. That's kinda' why I asked." He said, dryly, a mock confusion in his voice.

Beckett shook her head at him. _Two can play this game_, she thought to herself. She looked around and motioned for him to move closer, like she was about to tell him a secret that she didn't want anyone else to hear.

He moved as close as he could and she learned in to whisper in his ear. "Oh, Castle, I guess you'll just have to use your imagination… for now." She pulled away from him, a sly smirk on her face.

He stood there, stunned. He couldn't help but smile as he watched her walk away. If he wasn't already excited enough about this release party, he certainly was now.


	7. Chapter 7

_**The interrogation here will cut between the separate questioning of both of the witnesses / suspects (whatever you want to call them at this point!), just to keep the story moving in an episodic way. When you see the page break lines on the screen, that's where it cuts back and forth… hopefully it doesn't get confusing! LOL. **_

Chapter Seven

Beckett and Castle stood with Captain Montgomery in the gallery between the two interrogation rooms. In one room sat a young woman, quite beautiful in a girl-next-door kind of way. She had long, light-brown hair and piercing hazel eyes. In the other room sat a young man, athletic-looking and clean-cut, with short brown hair and stunning greenish-blue eyes.

"So what's your plan, detective?" Montgomery asked.

Beckett studied each of her witnesses, trying to get a read on them through the one-way mirrors. "Well, sir, we just need to hear their story, see if they both give us the same version of events or if one of them slips up."

"You really think these two had something to do with the murders?" Castle asked, not sounding convinced, but giving Beckett the benefit of the doubt. As much as he hated to admit it, she was rarely wrong.

"I don't know." Beckett admitted. "But something just doesn't add up with what we've found, and these two are the key to finding out the truth."

Castle nodded as Montgomery watched his determined detective. She was good, probably the best he'd ever seen, and he knew enough to trust her judgement.

"Let's go, Castle." Beckett said, as she entered the first room.

Ryan and Esposito joined Montgomery in the gallery, watching as Beckett began questioning the young man.

"Sean Michaels?" Beckett asked as she approached the desk and sat down.

The young man looked up at her and nodded his head, a little more at ease after hearing the soothing tone in the detective's voice.

"I'm Detective Beckett and this is Richard Castle" Kate said as Castle sat down beside her.

She instinctively folded her hands in front of her as she continued. "I'm so sorry for what you've been through this past few days."

Beckett's concern came across as genuine, putting the young man even more at ease. She needed him to feel comfortable if she was going to get the truth from him.

"We're trying to piece together what happened up at that house." She said. "Can you tell us what you remember?"

Sean took a deep breath, as if gathering up his courage to face the memories of that place. "The six of us have been friends for a long time. Most of us since tenth grade, some of us a lot longer than that." He started. "When Chris won those tickets for the murder-mystery weekend, we figured it would be the perfect way to end the summer before we all go back to college."

Sean paused for a moment before he continued. "Angie was the only one who didn't really like the idea. She thought it sounded fishy from the start."

* * *

"Yeah." Angela replied. "I just had a bad feeling about it, I guess." She paused for a minute, looking away before she continued. "I'd had this recurring nightmare ever since he first told us about it, and it just got worse every night up until we left. I took that as a warning." She looked back across the table as she finished. "But nobody else really put much stock in it, I guess."

Castle studied the young woman's expression as she spoke. "So what happened when you got there?" He asked her.

"We took a cab up to the house, unloaded our stuff, and walked up to the gates." Angela answered.

* * *

"It was like they were programmed or something." Sean continued. "They opened up for us when we got there, and they closed behind us and locked themselves on us once we were in. We figured it was part of the game, just trying to set the tone from the start." He was already visibly shaken by this trip down memory lane.

"So there was nobody else there when you got into the house?" Beckett asked.

Sean answered quickly. "No, we just thought that was part of it too."

* * *

"We found our rooms upstairs and settled in for the night, figuring we'd get unpacked before the game started." Angela continued. "A couple of hours later, we were all about to get together to look around the house. That's when they found Jessica. She was laying face-down on her bed with a letter opener in her back."

"Who found her like that?" Castle asked.

Angela paused for a minute, thinking. "Sean and Tom did, I think."

* * *

"Yeah, me and Tom found her. She didn't answer when I knocked on her door, and Tom wanted to check if she was in her room or not." Sean's face went pale at the thought. "At first we just thought it was part of the game…" His voice trailed off.

"So what convinced you that it wasn't?" Beckett asked.

Sean thought for a moment and replied, "Angie went in and checked her pulse. She didn't even have to tell us that Jess was dead, we could see it all over her face."

* * *

"So why didn't one of you call the cops? Or run for help?" Castle asked, genuinely puzzled as to why they would just stay there when one of their friends had been killed.

"Part of the game was that we couldn't bring our cell phones with us." Angela started to explain. "There was no phone in the house, no way of calling for help. And the gates were locked behind us."

She looked at the detective. "Trust me, we thought the safest option for all of us was to separate to our rooms, lock the doors, and come up with a game plan in the morning when we could actually see outside and find another way out."

* * *

"Plus, some of us weren't sure if this was really part of the game." Sean added. "I mean, Chris was convinced that it was, that Angie was in on it somehow, and that she was pretending that Jess was dead to throw us all off..." Sean trailed off again. "He had the rest of us convinced that he was right."

"And what happened the next morning?" Beckett prodded him to continue.

"Well, Angie and I were the first to get up. Once everyone else was awake, we were going to find a way out of there together." Sean replied. "We waited a few hours, but Chris never came out of his room. So we got worried and went in to check on him."

* * *

"That's when we found him." Angela continued. "He'd been stabbed in the chest with a knife and his floor was covered in blood." She grimaced at the thought. "We all thought he was dead, but he had faked it. He used Tom's fake blood and a trick knife. I guess he wanted us to think he was dead so he could get around the house without us suspecting anything."

Castle and Beckett looked at each other, confused.

"What was Tom doing with fake blood and a trick knife?" Castle asked.

Angela looked up at them, shaking her head. "Tom was the class clown. Always playing pranks. I figured he brought them to mess around with us. He brought a noose and some handcuffs with him too."

* * *

"After we found Chris like that," Sean continued, "the four of us decided we couldn't just stay there like sitting ducks. So me and Tom stayed back to pack up while Nicole and Angie went out to see if they could get the gates open."

Beckett's brow furrowed. "So you let the two girls roam around on their own with a killer on the loose?"

Sean laughed off Kate's comment, or as much as he could laugh under the circumstances. "You don't know Angie, detective. Trust me, Nicole was safer with Angie than I was with Tom. She's a tough girl, she can take care of herself." He paused. "And everyone else, for that matter."

Castle looked over at Beckett. _Remind you of someone?_ He asked, only in his own mind, of course.

* * *

"Sean came out to find us after a little time had passed." Angela continued. "We hadn't been able to find a decent way off of the property, so we decided to get Tom and try to climb the gate to get away."

Beckett already knew what was coming next. "But when you got back to his room, he was dead."

Angela looked down at the table. "Yeah, hung with his own noose from his ceiling fan."

* * *

"None of us knew what to do." Sean added. "We should have stayed together, but we panicked."

"So what happened next?" Castle asked.

"We ran to our rooms to find something, anything, to protect ourselves with." Sean answered.

Castle shook his head, not following the logic.

Sean picked up on his confusion. "I know what you're thinking…" He started. "It's easy to make jokes about the cheesy horror movies where the victims are always running back into the house or hiding under a bed when they should be trying to escape."

Castle nodded.

"But in the moment…" Sean thought back, consumed by the memory. "You just can't think. You only react." He paused. "Except you usually react the wrong way."

* * *

"The only thing I could think to do was find something we could use to protect ourselves at that point." Angie added. "So I told Nikki and Sean to search their rooms for anything we could use."

"And then what happened?" Beckett asked.

* * *

"Well, a few minutes later, I heard glass shattering. It was really loud." Sean explained. "I came running out of my room and saw the stained-glass window at the end of the hall upstairs had been broken."

* * *

"When we looked down, out of the window," Angela continued, "we saw Nikki lying way down on the walkway below. It was starting to get pretty dark out, but the lamp outside caught on the pieces of glass, almost glowing around her body."

* * *

Sean took a deep breath, composing himself again before he continued. "We knew we had to get out of there, so we turned to run."

* * *

"But when we turned around, Chris was standing there, his shirt still covered in the fake blood." Angela added.

* * *

"None of it made any sense." Sean said. "But he was standing there, and all I knew is that we had to get away from him."

"So what did you do?" Castle asked.

Sean looked down at the table. "When I heard the glass break earlier, I had grabbed a candlestick from the desk in my room." He explained.

Castle gave Beckett a quick "I told you so" look again at the mention of the candlestick. She subtly gave him a little kick under the table and refocused her attention on the young man across the table from them.

* * *

"He hit Chris hard enough to knock him down, at least for a minute or two." Angela recalled. "So we took off down the stairs and out the front door."

"But he followed you." Beckett added, prompting Angela for more of the story.

* * *

"We tried to get over the gate, but it had started raining and the bars were too slippery." Sean explained. "Angie noticed the ground had softened up, so she suggested we dig our way under the gate instead.

* * *

"Sean got under first." Angela continued. "I started to go but Chris had caught up to us at that point. I guess neither of us had noticed him, we were trying so hard to get away."

"So what happened next?" Castle asked.

* * *

"I heard Angie scream and I looked up." Sean replied, getting more and more visibly shaken as he recounted the story. "He grabbed her and pulled her away from the gate, hard enough for her to fly back a bit. She hit the ground pretty hard."

Beckett watched as Sean tried to compose himself.

He took a deep breath and continued. "I reached through the gate and grabbed Chris as hard as I could. He grabbed me too, though, so we struggled for a bit."

"You pulled him into the bars a few times?" Beckett asked, remembering the bruise patterns on Chris' chest.

Sean looked up at her before replying. "Yeah, I did. But it didn't do much good. He pulled me pretty hard into the bars and then everything went black."

* * *

"Sean's head hit the bars pretty hard." Angela recalled. "He fell to the ground and wasn't moving. I know it was a dumb thing to do, but I went after Chris after that. He threw me down to the ground pretty hard again." She paused. "That's when I saw the rock."

"So you hit him in the head with it and knocked him out…" Castle filled in, thinking back to what Lanie said about the rock.

Angela looked at him and replied. "Yeah, he dropped pretty quickly."

"Then what?" Beckett prodded.

"Well, I had found Ryan's handcuffs inside the house and grabbed them earlier." Angela answered. "So I cuffed Chris to the gate, in case he came to before I had a chance to get away."

* * *

"When I came to, Angie had somehow found a pair of handcuffs and had cuffed Chris to the gate. We got up and headed off down the road. We figured we'd get back to the city and call you guys to arrest him." Sean explained. "Except we must have passed out somewhere on the way."

"And Chris died at the scene." Beckett added.

Sean looked up at her, confused. "Chris is dead?" He suddenly realized why they were questioning him and Angela. "It's not her fault. It was self-defence, detective. You can't charge her for that."

Castle saw the genuine concern that Sean had, the need to protect Angela, and he felt compelled to console him. "It's okay, Sean, we know. Don't worry about her. Both of you have been through a lot, we're just here to get some answers, that's all."

He looked over at Beckett.

* * *

Castle and Beckett are sitting at her desk, looking back up at the murder board again. Sean and Angela had been escorted home an hour or so earlier and it was quiet now in the precinct. With the late hour, most of the department had headed home, leaving the two of them in silence.

Castle looked over at Beckett, as if to ask what she was thinking.

"It just doesn't make any sense." She started.

Castle nodded. "It feels so forced…" He added. "Like a bad horror movie. No real mystery, no story. Just a random killing spree."

"Exactly." Beckett agreed. "Where's the motive? Where's the intent? If he planned this whole thing out, why do the murders seem so spontaneous?"

"Why don't we head over to the crime scene tomorrow morning and try to figure it out?" Castle offered. "Maybe re-enact Sean and Angela's version of events and see if we can find any holes in it?"

Beckett nodded. "Yeah, that's actually a really good idea, Castle." She turned back to look at the board again.

Castle watched Beckett for a minute as she studied the information. She could feel him staring, so she turned to him, eyebrow raised.

"What?" She asked, somewhat annoyed but more just intrigued.

Castle smiled. "Why don't we go get a late-night burger at Remy's?" He said. "It'll take our minds off of the case and we can catch up on what we both missed over the summer."

Beckett appreciated how genuine he sounded and she seriously considered the offer for a minute. But the professional in her won out in the end.

"Sorry, Castle, but it's been a really long day and we need to get to that crime scene pretty early." She felt pangs of guilt almost as soon as the words had come out of her mouth, but she knew she was doing the right thing. "It's probably best if we both just go home and get some rest."

"You're probably right." Castle tried to mask the disappointment that he knew was showing on his face. He smiled as another thought came into his mind. "Will you at least let me walk you home?"

Beckett knew there wasn't an excuse she could come up with for turning down that offer. Plus, she simply couldn't resist that charming glint in his eye. She knew this probably wasn't the best idea, but she reluctantly agreed. "Sure."

Castle's smile widened and Beckett laughed. They grabbed their stuff and headed for the elevator.

_**Okay, so I promised some full-out relationship writing in Chapter Eight, especially after the last few chapters with mostly case-related material, so that's exactly what you'll get as Castle walks Beckett home! I think it's been my favourite chapter to write so far, and I just have some minor tweaking to do still, so stay tuned, it should be up very soon…**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Here it is, for all of my fellow Caskett shippers… the first of a few scenes that will focus entirely on Castle and Beckett... As much as I've surprised myself by actually having fun with writing the case into the story, my heart is still very much committed to writing the relationship part of the storyline above anything else. This is the kind of material that I thoroughly enjoy writing, and I just hope you all enjoy reading it!**_

_**As always, reviews are welcome, whether good or bad! I've gotten a lot of great encouragement and also some wonderful insights and suggestions from people so far, so I just want to say that I appreciate all of it!**_

_**Without further adieu…**_

Chapter Eight

It was a beautiful night in the city as Castle and Beckett left the precinct and headed off towards her apartment. They walked in silence for a few minutes, taking in the crisp air. There was a tension between them that both could feel, yet it wasn't an awkward one for either of them.

Castle noticed that Beckett was different outside of work. On the job, she took the lead and walked with a determined step. Here, she walked at a much more leisurely pace, letting Castle stay by her side and almost enjoying the quiet stroll. He found himself thinking that he liked this other side of her and was determined to see it more often.

Beckett's mind had been reeling all day, trying to piece the puzzle of the case together, and she found it a nice change of pace to not be thinking about it now. She was so used to being consumed by her work, and although she wasn't sure how Castle was able to offer her such a wonderful distraction from that, she was thoroughly enjoying it.

"So, detective," Castle started, breaking the silence. "Did you miss me this summer?"

Beckett smirked and looked over at him. "Why, Castle, did you miss me?"

Castle grinned. "I asked you first." He replied, not letting her turn the tables on him so easily.

Beckett thought about how to answer that. _Of course I did_, she thought to herself. Instead of admitting that, she opted for her usual brand of sarcasm. "Well, it was a lot quieter." She started. "And I didn't have anybody around to annoy me all day…"

Castle winced and Beckett decided to give him the answer he was looking for. "Honestly, Castle…" She began, pausing slowly before she continued. "It really wasn't the same around her without you."

Her comments earned a glowing smile from Castle, and she realized she liked having that effect on him.

"The cases simply weren't as fun." She added. "It just kind of felt like work again."

Castle's smile grew.

Beckett laughed. "Plus, Ryan and Esposito acted like they'd lost their puppy. It was really quite sad." She finished, smirking at Castle by the end.

Castle laughed. "Well, I missed them a lot too." He paused, making sure he could watch her expression as he added, "And you, of course."

Beckett did her best to contain the smile that spread across her face and turned her gaze to the ground. She hesitated before she replied, "You must have had a great time in the Hamptons, though." She kept her eyes focused straight ahead, not sure she could look at him when he gave his answer.

"Actually," he started. "It wasn't as much fun as you'd think." Beckett turned her attention back to him, thrown by his response.

Castle looked ahead as he continued. "I mean, it was nice to get back to writing every day, like I used to. It's just…" He paused, trying to find the answer in his mind.

Beckett kept focused on Castle, her brow furrowed as she waited for him to finish.

"It felt more like work. Writing used to be everything to me, my way of living in whatever world I wanted to." He continued, turning his gaze back to Beckett as he added, "I guess I just realized how great this world really is, how much I wanted to be back in it again."

The two kept their eyes locked on each other for a moment. His words had clearly affected her, and he was more than a little surprised by that.

Beckett was the first to tear her gaze away, composing herself before asking the question she had been dying to know the answer to all summer. "Well, at least you got to patch things up with your ex-wife, right?" She held her breath as she waited for his response, not sure if she would be able to hide her disappointment.

"Gina?" Castle replied, thrown off by Beckett's question at first, but then realizing she obviously didn't know. He laughed. "Trying to patch things up with Gina is like trying to put out a fire with gasoline… it's not actually possible, and you just end up getting burned."

Beckett laughed, now quite at ease. "Was it really that bad?" She asked.

Castle put his hand on Beckett's arm to stop her in her tracks as he turned to face her, trying his best to maintain a serious look on his face. "Have you ever seen those nature shows where the snake swallows a mouse whole?"

Castle used his hands to imitate a snake devouring a mouse, making just the right facial expressions and sound effects to earn a genuine laugh from Beckett. He couldn't help but smile at her reaction and they both started walking again.

"Well, I'm sorry it didn't work out for you, Castle." Beckett replied, sincerely.

Castle looked over at her. "Thank you." He replied.

They walked on in a comfortable silence for a few minutes. Her mind was now reeling at the knowledge that he was no longer with Gina, and his was working just as hard to figure out whether or not to bring up the subject he'd be waiting all night to ask her about. After another minute of silence, he decided to take his chances.

"Listen, Beckett, I'm sorry about Demming." He started, watching her closely to gauge her reaction. "If I had known earlier, I wouldn't have brought it up, I swear."

Beckett's brow furrowed, stunned at what Castle had just said. _How did he know?_ She thought to herself. She tried to reply, but couldn't find the words.

Castle continued. "And I'm sorry that it didn't work out between you two."

"How…" Beckett stammered, still unsure of what to make of this unlikely turn in the conversation.

"Ryan let it slip." Castle admitted, now feeling guilty for bringing it up again.

Beckett nodded and clenched her jaw, obviously annoyed. "And what exactly did he tell you?" She kept her gaze looking ahead, not wanting to make eye contact with Castle, fearing how much he knew at this point.

Castle looked slightly puzzled as he replied. "Just that you two weren't together anymore." He paused, watching Beckett's face relax a little. He decided to press on. "Listen, if you want to talk about it…"

Beckett smiled at his the sincerity in his tone. She did her best to avert her eyes from his, forcing herself to look away when she felt her gaze return to him for a moment every now and then as she spoke. "There's not much to talk about. He's a great guy and I liked him a lot, but…" She trailed off, not sure how to continue. She wasn't ready yet to admit her real reasons to him, but she also didn't want to outright lie to him either. "I just realized he wasn't really what I wanted for myself."

Castle remained focused on Beckett as he did his best to control the smile that was threatening to come out. He knew this was difficult for Beckett to do, to be so honest about herself, and he didn't want to ruin the moment.

"Well, sometimes it's tempting to settle." Castle started. "But you, Kate Beckett, you deserve everything you could ever want, and you shouldn't settle for anything less."

Beckett smiled, working hard to hold back the tears that were starting to form in her eyes. _That may have been the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me_, she thought to herself.

The two locked eyes once again, almost basking in the moment together.

"Too bad, though…" Castle started, breaking the silence. "I really liked that guy…"

Beckett laughed. "Really?" She asked, sarcastically, as she raised her eyebrow at him.

Castle shook his head in defeat. "No, I didn't…"

They shared a laugh together before Beckett stopped walking and looked up at the building they had come to.

"This is my new place." She said, motioning to the apartment building, suddenly feeling tense again. She almost didn't want him to go, enjoying this time they were spending together outside of work. Still, she didn't dare extend an invitation to him to come in, even just for a casual coffee.

Castle felt rather disappointed, knowing their late-night stroll was now officially over and he would have to wait until morning to see her again. Despite this, he felt happier and more at ease than he had in months, just being able to talk to her like this and be close to her again.

The two remained silent for a minute or so, neither wanting the night to end yet neither being able to take it further.

Castle was the first to break the silence. "Well, it's late, detective, and we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

Beckett nodded. "Right. So I'll see you in the morning?"

Castle smiled. "Yes you will." He paused, keeping his eyes fixed on hers. "Until then, detective."

Beckett grinned right back at him. "Goodnight, Castle."

She watched as he turned and started to walk away. Before he could get too far, she called out to him. "Castle?" She asked.

He turned back around to look at her.

"I'm glad you're home." She said, grinning.

Castle returned the smile and replied, "Me too, Beckett, me too."

He watched as she turned around and unlocked the lobby door, disappearing into the hallway. Castle beamed from ear to ear as he started on his way home.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

The morning air was crisp and cool, a typical fall morning in New York. Beckett pulled up to the crime scene and grinned when she saw Castle waiting for her, two coffees in hand. She got out of the car and Castle walked over to meet her.

"Good morning, detective." Castle greeted her, handing her one of the cups of coffee.

Beckett smiled back at him. "Thanks, Castle." She replied, sincerely.

The pair walked past the yellow tape, opened the gates, and made their way up the long driveway, entering the large front doors when they got to the house.

When they had made their way up the main staircase, they looked around at the six bedrooms lining the upstairs hallway on each side and began to retrace the steps that Angela and Sean had outlined for them in the interrogation room.

"So they all arrive late one night and separate to their rooms to settle in and unpack." Beckett started, looking across the hallway at the six rooms.

Castle continued, making his way to one of the rooms on the right of the hallway. "Later that night, they find Jessica murdered in her room, a letter opener sticking out of her back."

Beckett looked at the room. "Based on her last journal entry, something happened in those first few hours that made her think that her and Chris should give up on their elaborate plan."

Castle's eyes lit up as he thought of something. "Maybe that was his motive for killing her." He started. "The only way to continue with his plan was to shut her up."

Beckett's brow furrowed at the thought, shaking her head as she spoke. "I don't know. He had her convinced to go along with this plan in the first place. It probably wouldn't have taken much to get her on-board again." Castle nodded in agreement as she continued. "Plus, if they had gotten into an argument and things went too far, he wouldn't have stabbed her in the back with a letter opener."

"That does imply more of a planned attack. Probably someone sneaking up on her, rather than facing her." Castle added to Beckett's theory.

They walked back into the hallway, looking around again.

"So they all retreat to their rooms and lock the doors, trying to stay safe for the night and regroup in the morning." Beckett continued.

Castle walked over to Chris' room. "The next morning, they find Chris apparently stabbed in the chest." Castle started.

"Only this time, nobody checks to see if he's alive." Beckett added.

Castle looked puzzled. "But why would he fake his own death?" He asked.

"It doesn't make any sense." Beckett replied. "If he was the killer, it would have been easier for him to go after his victims if he could walk around the house openly. If he had to worry about being seen wandering around, he would have had a much harder time getting to them."

"Unless…" Castle started.

Beckett looked over at him, waiting for him to share his thoughts.

Castle began unravelling his theory. "Sean said that Chris had some of them convinced that Jessica wasn't really dead, that it was part of the murder-mystery game and that Angela had to have been involved because she's the one who confirmed that Jessica had no pulse when they found her."

Beckett nodded in agreement. "But he knew there was no game because him and Jessica had set up this whole weekend themselves."

"Exactly." Castle replied. "Maybe he wanted to keep up the rouse of the game because he thought he knew who the real killer was and wanted to draw them out."

Beckett continued. "He knew the killer would figure out that he wasn't really dead, and that when they did come after him for real, he would take them out and be the hero."

Castle grinned. "You know, detective, you once told me that when you find a guy standing over a body with a gun, he's usually the guy who did it. Odd that you're now spinning one heck of a plot twist as a possible alternative."

Beckett laughed at the memory and replied, "What can I say, Castle? Maybe you're storytelling impulse has rubbed off on me. It just never seems that simple anymore."

The two shared a brief moment, both smiling as their gazes locked.

Castle was the first to look away, suddenly realizing a vital clue in the case. "So if Chris wasn't the killer…" He started.

"Then one of our two witnesses is lying to us." Beckett concluded, reaching for her phone.

She pressed her speed-dial furiously. "Hey, Esposito, I need you to bring Sean and Angela back in for questioning."


	10. Chapter 10

_**Whew, this is a LONG chapter… another interrogation scene, so it follows the same back-and-forth format as Chapter Seven did. Hopefully it's not too confusing!**_

_**Thank you all for your patience as you had to wait an awfully long time for the last chapter, so I was did my best to get Chapter Ten done and posted as quickly as possible to make up for it. Chapter Eleven is almost complete, so I'm hoping to have it posted in the next day or two as well.**_

_**It looks like there will be fourteen chapters in total before the conclusion of this little "episode" that I have in my head, so we're almost there, folks! Thanks for joining me on this adventure and I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it!**_

_**As always, reviews are certainly welcome, no matter if your thoughts are good or bad! It's all constructive in some way, so keep them coming!**_

_**Without further adieu...**_

Chapter Ten

Sean and Angela sat in separate interrogation rooms, just as they had the day before. Ryan and Esposito waited in the adjoining room, on the other side of the one-way mirrors, their minds spinning with ideas as they anxiously awaited the arrival of their other two partners.

Beckett and Castle entered the first interrogation room, a determined look on Kate's face as she approached the table where Sean was sitting. His already-pale expression grew more worried, unsure of why he was there again.

"It seems as though you left a few things out of your story the last time you were here, Sean." Beckett started, an accusing gleam in her eye that caused Sean's heart-rate to increase.

Sean stumbled to find the words, finally squeaking out the only thing he could muster. "I'm sorry, but I told you everything I know…"

Beckett sat down in the chair across from Sean and kept her intent gaze focused on him, unnerving him even more. "Well, here's how this is going to work, Mr. Michaels… I'm going to ask you to fill in the blanks now." She started, the frightened young man nodding his head in agreement. "And this time, don't leave anything out."

* * *

Angela maintained eye contact with Kate as she agreed to her terms. "So what do you want to know, detective?"

Castle moved slowly and sat down in the chair beside Beckett as she began her interrogation. "Let's start at the beginning. What's your relationship to Sean?"

Angela chuckled before answering. "Are you asking if we're together?"

Beckett looked at her sternly. "I'm asking you to tell me the truth."

Angela nodded in agreement. "It's a tough question to answer, detective, and trust me, you're not the first person who's asked it."

* * *

"We've been friends since we were kids." Sean recalled, his mood lightening at the thought. "As we got older, everyone just assumed we'd get together."

Castle prompted Sean to continue. "So why didn't you?"

Sean thought about his answer for a moment before replying. "I don't know." He paused briefly. "I guess part of me was scared she wouldn't want to be with me." Castle couldn't help but steal a glance over at Beckett. His gaze lingered only for a moment before Sean continued, forcing Castle's attention back at the young man. "I just always assumed it would sort of happen on its own. You know, when the time was right, when everything was perfect and fate just took over for us."

* * *

"Do you believe in fate, detective?" Angela asked Beckett, after Kate had mentioned the idea of Angela and Sean being 'meant-to-be'. Beckett looked down at the table for a moment, a look that did not go unnoticed. "Well, I don't." Angela continued, causing the detective to look back up at her, a little thrown off by the unexpected response.

Angela shifted in her seat. "I don't believe that things were meant to happen a certain way. I believe that people make things happen, whether good or bad, and those actions have both rewards and consequences." Beckett stared back at the young woman in front of her, almost impressed with her. Angela continued, a softer tone in her voice now. "But sometimes acting on what you feel is easier said than done. I guess I was just too scared of losing Sean that I held myself back from telling him how I felt."

Beckett's jaw clenched and her eyes wandered to glance over at Castle.

* * *

"The funny thing is that my whole reason for coming on this trip was to have a weekend away with Angie, even if there were other people around." Sean continued. "I was planning on telling her exactly how I felt about her."

Castle replied. "And did you?"

Sean grimaced at the thought, shaking his head. "No, I never really got the chance to." He paused for a moment before continuing. "But after everything that happened, in that moment where we got away, we both came clean and told each other everything." He smiled. "We decided to give 'us' a chance. It almost made everything seem worth it, in the end."

Castle and Beckett looked over at each other, suspicion now starting to creep in for each of them.

Beckett was the first to speak. "Did you know that Chris and Jessica were working together to try to keep you and Angela apart?" She studied the confused look on Sean's face, wondering if it was sincere or not.

"What do you mean?" Sean asked.

Castle filled in the blanks for him. "They set the rest of you up. There was no murder-mystery game. Chris and Jessica rented the house and made it all up. It was part of some elaborate scheme to break the two of you up and keep the pieces for themselves."

* * *

"I knew…" Angela admitted.

Beckett's brow furrowed at the response. "You knew?"

"How did you know?" Castle asked.

Angela swallowed hard before continuing. "I overheard Jess and Chris arguing about their plan not working."

"When did this happen, Angela?" Beckett asked.

"Maybe an hour or two before we found her body." Angela looked at the table, visibly shaken by her own comment.

Beckett changed her tone of voice to attempt to comfort Angela, hoping to get more details from her. "I know it's difficult to relive this, but I need you to tell me everything that you remember about their argument."

Angela looked back up at Beckett and took a deep breath before she continued. "I didn't hear or see much, really. The door to her room was closed. All I really heard was that Jess was ready to give up on the plan and Chris was trying to convince her to keep going with it. He seemed pretty angry with her, though…" Her voice trailed off.

"What made Jessica so willing to give up, especially so soon into the weekend?" Castle asked.

Angela replied. "She had gone to see Sean while we were all unpacking. She tried to seduce him and I guess he shot her down."

* * *

"So you had an argument with Jessica just hours before you all found her dead?" Castle asked Sean.

"It wasn't like that." Sean started to reply, his voiced raised at the accusation. He toned it down as he continued. "She came on to me, she had the wrong idea about how I felt about her, and I just told her that I wasn't interested in her like that."

"How'd she take that news?" Beckett asked, suspiciously.

Sean shook his head. "She was upset, obviously. But she just left." He looked back up at the detective before continuing. "Alive."

* * *

"So you think Chris killed Jess because she was ready to come clean about their plan?" Angela asked.

"We're weighing out all of the possible options." Castle replied. Beckett grinned at his statement. _Maybe I've rubbed off on him a little bit too_, she thought to herself.

Beckett turned her attention back to Angela. "The one thing we're still unclear on is why Chris would murder Nicole."

Angela looked down at the desk as Castle added. "Maybe you can fill us in, let us know what the situation was like between them…"

"Well, they really didn't like each other much." Angela offered, a dry tone to her voice.

* * *

"Especially after Nicole got in Chris' way with Angie the other night." Sean continued.

Beckett's brow furrowed at the comment. "What do you mean?" She asked.

"Chris was a good guy, but he had a bit of a temper. And an ego." Sean started. "He had gone to Angie's room the first night that we were at the house. I guess he was hitting on her, as usual. When she turned him down, which is typically how it went with them, he got pretty mad. Nicole had been on her way to see Angie and walked in on him. He had Angie pinned against the wall, his hands holding her wrists so she couldn't fight him off." He shuddered at the thought, clenching his jaw before continuing. "Nicole pulled him away from Angie and he stormed out, yelling at Nicole on his way."

* * *

"Lucky for you Nicole walked in when she did." Beckett stated. "You can always count on your best friend to be there at just the right time, can't you?"

"If you say so, detective." Angela replied, dryly.

Castle looked at the young woman, puzzled. "You don't agree?" He asked.

Angela looked down at the table again. "Let's just say she hadn't been much of a best friend lately."

"You two were on the outs?" Beckett responded. "Why was that?"

* * *

"It's my fault, really." Sean continued. "About a month ago, we were all at some party and I guess Nicole and Angie had gotten into an argument. Nikki wanted to get back at her so she came to me and told me that Angie left with some other guy."

"She lied to you?" Castle asked.

Sean nodded in agreement. "I was pretty upset about it. And I'd be drinking. A lot." He paused, having trouble getting the next part of his story out.

"What happened?" Beckett prodded him.

"We were just talking, me and Nikki. I was hurt and drunk and so was she. One thing led to another…" Sean trailed off.

* * *

"So your best friend slept with the guy you'd been after for years?" Castle exclaimed, unable to hide his amusement by this twist in the storyline.

Angela and Beckett both glared at him.

"It took a while, but Angie finally forgave me for what happened." Sean continued. "She said she didn't blame me for it and that she was willing to just work past it."

"But you couldn't forgive Nicole, could you?" Beckett asked.

Angela shook her head. "Forgiving is the easy part, detective." She replied. "It's forgetting that's hard." She paused, noticing how those words seemed to resonate with the cop sitting across the table from her. "It's hard to get past it when someone you trust so much lets you down like that."

Beckett looked away, not wanting to reveal her sympathy. The young woman in front of her was still a suspect, she reminded herself.

* * *

"No matter how hurt Angie was by what Nikki did to her, though, I'm sure they would have worked things out eventually." Sean added. "I figured that if I told Angie how I felt about her and we could move forward, she'd have an easier time putting that whole thing behind her." He paused, swallowing hard at the thought that now crossed his mind. "You should have seen how broken up she looked when she saw Nikki's body lying on the ground outside."

* * *

"You were the one who found her like that?" Castle asked.

Angela nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I heard this loud sound of shattering glass and ran out of my room. I saw the window at the end of the hallway had been broken and I looked out and saw her."

Beckett winced at the thought. She knew what it felt like to see a loved one in that state, and she wouldn't wish it on anyone.

* * *

"I got out to the hallway just after Angie did. I tried to console her, but she's always been a lot stronger than any of us and she just turned away from the window and tried not to think about it." Sean continued.

"And that's when you saw Chris coming up behind you two?" Castle asked.

"Yeah," Sean replied. "It was a shock to both of us to see him there. We thought he was dead."

Beckett's brow furrowed. "Did he say anything to you?"

Sean thought about it for a minute. "I can't really remember. Everything happened so fast after that, it was hard to take it all in."

* * *

"He came at us, his shirt still soaked in the fake blood." Angela added. "We were both terrified."

"So Sean hit him over the head with a candlestick and the two of you ran?" Castle asked, remembering the last interrogation.

* * *

"Yeah, I just did what I had to do to protect us." Sean replied. "We ran outside and tried to get away, not knowing how long Chris would be out for."

Beckett raised an eyebrow as she rehashed his original statement. "But Chris caught up to you out at the gate. You each struggled with him at certain points, you ended up being knocked unconscious, and when you came to, Angela had handcuffed Chris, who was out cold, to the gate and the two of you got away and ran down the road?"

Sean nodded in agreement. "Pretty much." He paused, a slow smile creeping up on his face. "Except we didn't run down the road right away." He started.

Both Beckett and Castle looked at him, confusion showing through both of their expressions. "What?" They asked in unison, Beckett quickly looking over at Castle to squash the _jinx_ that she knew he was about to utter.

Sean's smile grew as he recalled the minutes after they escaped. "It's a little personal..." He started. "Let's just say we had a moment."

Beckett raised an eyebrow. "A moment?" She asked, sarcastically.

* * *

"We'd just survived this terrible massacre, detective." Angela responded. "It was horrifying and yet exhilarating at the same time. Escaping death, fighting for our lives, being so close to losing each other. We both knew we couldn't waste any more time because we never know how much time we've got."

Castle nodded in agreement. "I get it, I do. Almost had a moment like that myself once." He started, causing Beckett to turn her attention over to him as he continued. "Except _someone_ was too cranky about almost being blown up. And oddly self-conscious about being naked at the time too…" He trailed off, grinning at the memory.

Beckett glared at him. "Castle…" The warning tone in her voice wiped the grin off of his face pretty quickly.

* * *

"So how did Thomas fit into all of this?" Beckett asked.

Sean thought about that question before he replied. "I honestly don't know. Everybody liked Tom, especially Chris. They were pretty close." He paused. "I felt really bad for Tom when he was the one who had to check and see if Chris was dead when we found him stabbed in his room, just like Angie had to do with Jess. Both of them were really brave to go and do that. I know I couldn't have…" He trailed off.

* * *

"Maybe Tom caught on to what Chris was up to." Angela responded. "I mean, Chris had used Tom's trick knife and stage blood to fake his own death. Maybe Tom figured it out and realized that Chris had killed Jessica."

"Maybe he tried to stop him…" Castle added.

Angela nodded in agreement. "Chris was a lot stronger than Tom was, though most people were. Tom wasn't much of a tough guy. It wouldn't have been hard to get that noose around his neck, especially with nobody else around to hear them struggle."

* * *

"I shouldn't have left him alone…" Sean trailed off. "But the girls were taking too long outside and I got worried."

Beckett's brow furrowed at his comment. "I thought you said before that you knew Angie could take care of both of them?"

Sean looked back at the detective. "I did. But if anything happened to her, I wouldn't have been able to forgive myself."

"So you left Thomas alone in the house with a killer?" Castle summed it up.

Sean nodded solemnly. "We had already packed up the girls' stuff, and mine, all that was left were Tom's bags." He replied, pausing at the thought that crossed his mind. "It's just so weird that I saw him packing that noose, along with all of his other prank stuff. And the next time I saw him…" His voice trailed off, the colour fading from his face.

* * *

"Trust me, detective, we both grasp the gravity of what we lived through." Angela started, a sad look on her face. "And we have to live with pretty some horrific memories of what happened in that house." She paused, noticing the look of understanding on Beckett's face before continuing. "Both Sean and I are more than willing to do anything and everything to help you close this case, but we also just want to get on with our lives and move on. I hope you can understand that."

Beckett nodded. "I can." She stood up from her chair and extended her hand towards Angela. "Thank you for your help, Ms. Porter."

* * *

Castle and Beckett sat in silence in the break-room. It had been a long day and the interrogations had run late into the evening. As usual, the precinct was fairly empty, most of the other cops having headed home for the day.

Ryan and Esposito joined their partners.

"Sean and Angela were escorted home safely." Ryan confirmed.

"And the lab results came back for our murder weapons." Esposito added. "No prints on the letter opener at all, and no prints on the rope, aside from the vic's, of course. The only prints they found were Angela's on the rock that killed Chris."

Beckett grimaced at the lack of positive news. "Well, we already knew her prints would be on the rock. I was hoping we'd get a hit on the other two, though." Kate drew in a deep breath and exhaled before continuing. "Alright, let's call it a night and start fresh in the morning."

Esposito and Ryan gathered their coats and looked over at Castle and Beckett, who were still sitting at the table, both seemingly too tired to even get up to leave.

"We carpooled in this morning. Can we give you guys a ride home?" Esposito asked them.

Before Beckett could respond, Castle spoke up. "Actually, it's supposed to be a nice night out tonight. I think I'd rather walk." He grinned at the boys. "But thank you for the offer."

Ryan looked at him, questioningly. "With all the crazies out there, you want to walk home alone at this time of night?"

Castle laughed. "You're right. Maybe I should enlist the help of one of New York's finest to escort me…" He turned and grinned at Beckett. "You're not afraid of the crazies, are you, detective?"

Kate grinned. "Not at all, Castle. In fact, I work with one of them every day." She replied, sarcastically. "I'll make sure you get home safely." It was then that she noticed the suspicious glares of her partners and felt the need to come up with a better cover for herself. "Plus, it'll give us a chance to dissect the case a little better, maybe figure out what we're missing, come up with a starting point for the morning."

Ryan and Esposito shared a knowing look between them, grinning at Beckett's attempt to throw them off. They were trained detectives, and it certainly didn't take one to see what was going on here. At the same time, they knew better than to cross that line right now. They had seen Castle go through hell in the spring when Beckett was with Demming, and they had also seen Beckett take on her own share of heartbreak when Castle left her for the summer. Both wanted nothing more than for these two to work things out, so they knew well enough to stay back and not interfere.

"Have fun with that. We'll see you two in the morning." Esposito said, grinning as he and Ryan made their way to the parking garage.

Beckett left the break-room and collected her belongings from her desk, Castle following closely behind her. She put on her coat and scarf, readying herself for the cool fall night that awaited them.

Castle caught himself staring at her and smiled sheepishly when she looked back at him, slightly unnerved. "Shall we?" He asked her, trying to distract her from his embarrassment.

Beckett smiled. "I'm ready if you are." She replied.

They walked to the elevator and pushed the button. When the doors parted and Beckett started to step forward, Castle instinctively placed his hand on her lower back, resting it only for a moment before he caught himself and quickly removed it.

Kate felt a smile start across her face when she felt his hand brush against her. She did her best to fight back the blush of her cheeks as well, knowing she could not let Castle see how easily he could affect her like that.

Castle thought he caught a glimpse of a smile on Beckett's face and couldn't help but grin at the thought.

They both turned around when they got into the elevator, facing the still-open doors. There was not much space between them, but there certainly was plenty of tension there.

A thought popped into Castle's head and he looked over at Beckett, slightly confused. "Wait, so am I walking you home, or are you walking me home?"

Beckett turned to look at him and smiled at his confused expression as the doors slowly closed on them.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Thanks again to everyone who has read and reviewed the story so far. We're nearly at the end here… just four chapters to go!**_

_**And here's the first of those final four:**_

Chapter Eleven

Castle and Beckett walked a familiar route towards Kate's apartment. It was a rather cool night and it showed as Beckett kept her hands in her jacket pockets, holding her coat closed tightly against her.

Castle looked over at Kate. "Bad idea to walk home on a night like this?" He asked, his concern coming across as quite sincere.

"Not at all." Beckett replied as she smiled and looked back at him. "Actually, the fresh air is kind of nice."

They continued in silence for a moment before Castle spoke up. "So are you still sure that Chris wasn't the real killer?"

Beckett's brow furrowed. "Yeah, it just seems too easy, the perfect set-up." She paused before continuing. "The murders are just too elaborate, too creative. He could have easily taken any of them out with sheer force, and he obviously wasn't patient enough to have waited for just the right moment to go after them one-by-one the way the killer did."

"Maybe he was just trying to cover his tracks, make it seem like it couldn't be him." Castle offered.

Beckett grinned. "You know, for someone who's usually so detail-oriented, you seem to have overlooked one major clue, Castle."

Castle stopped and turned towards her. "And what clue is that, detective?" He asked, sarcastically.

Beckett followed his lead and turned to face him, a confident smirk on her face. "Sean and Thomas sent Angela and Nicole out on their own to find an escape route."

Castle raised his eyebrow at Beckett. "So?..." He prompted her, not following where her logic had taken her.

"If Chris was the killer, it would have been the perfect scenario to go after Angela and Nicole." Beckett replied, unconsciously leaning closer to Castle. "Or Sean and Thomas, for that matter."

With that statement, Castle finally clued in to what she was alluding to. "With Sean and Angela each with someone else at that point…" He started, leaning closer to Beckett as he spoke.

"They knew they couldn't kill the person they were with without raising suspicion." Beckett added. She and Castle were now only inches apart from each other.

Castle grinned. "So one of them had to be the real killer."

Beckett nodded, smirking right back at Castle. "Exactly."

The two stood for a moment, silently basking in their shared clarity, just like old times. Suddenly, Castle's eyes dimmed. "So which one is it?" He asked, genuinely confused.

Beckett's brow furrowed. "That I don't know…" She trailed off, her admittance grounding her back into reality as she turned and started walking again.

Castle followed suit, a new thought crossing his mind. "There's one thing that still doesn't make sense to me, though." Castle started.

Beckett looked at him. "What's that, Castle?" She asked.

"Well, after Chris faked his death and the killer knew what he was up to, why didn't they go after him right away?" Castle asked.

Beckett thought for a moment before answering, remembering the pool of fake blood that had stained the carpet in Chris' room. Suddenly, a look of clarity crossed her face and lit up her eyes. "Because someone else knew that Chris wasn't really dead."

Castle realized where she was going with this theory and added. "He had an accomplice to help him fake his death."

"Exactly." Beckett agreed. "Thomas brought the fake blood and trick knife, and nobody else knew he had them with him. He must have helped Chris pull off the scheme, convinced that Jessica wasn't really dead and it was just part of the game."

"He figured he'd help Chris fake his own death and they'd work together in secret to solve the mystery and win the game." Castle concluded.

"The real killer figured out that Thomas had helped Chris and they knew they had to take him out first…" Beckett started.

Castle added, "Because Tom was the only one who knew Chris was actually alive still." He paused, remembering something from the interrogation. "Sean told us that Tom was the one to check to see if Chris was dead. He would have known that Chris was alive, so he had to have been in on it."

Beckett grinned, her theory now making more sense than ever to her.

"So how does Nicole fit into all of this?" Castle asked. "Pushed out of a window seems a little less planned than the other two murders."

Beckett considered the options. "Maybe she was in the wrong place at the wrong time, made it easy for our killer to shove her through that window to get her out of the way without the extra effort."

"Sean and Angela both said that Chris came up behind them in the hallway after that." Castle started.

"So maybe he saw who killed Nicole and was about to out them." Beckett continued.

Castle's eyes grew wide at the thought. "But Sean knocked him out with the candlestick before he could say anything." He concluded, the case seeming much clearer to him now. "Sean did have a motive for each of the victims." Beckett considered Castle's theory as he continued. "Jessica was a threat to his potential relationship with Angela, Nicole had nearly ruined his chance with her already, Chris had physically attacked the woman that he loved, and Tom had to be taken out to get at Chris. In the end, taking them all out got him exactly what he wanted."

"So he killed four of his friends all out of love for Angela?" Beckett seemed slightly more than skeptical about this.

"It's one of the biggest motives for murder, detective." Castle argued. "When love leads to jealousy and possessiveness, it can cause people to do some horrific things to each other."

Beckett considered his argument, thinking about how many of their cases came down to that same idea. Scorned lovers, jealous spouses, seemingly normal people who just snapped when they thought they might lose the person they loved. Or, in some cases, murder being a result of someone trying to protect their loved one, whether rationally or not. _He could be right about this one_, she thought to herself.

Castle snapped her out of her thoughts. "Sean could have gotten away with it too." He grinned as he continued. "He was lucky Angela found Tom's handcuffs and chained Chris to the gate. Even if he had survived, it would have been their word against his. And with no fingerprints on the murder weapons and no concrete evidence to clear his name, Chris would have gone down for the massacre either way."

Beckett stopped in her tracks, her brow furrowed.

Castle watched her expression, a puzzled look coming across his own face. "Beckett?" He asked. "What is it?"

Without answering, Beckett took out her phone and frantically pushed the buttons. "Hi, it's me… Sorry to call so late, but I need you to bring Sean and Angela back in first thing tomorrow morning... Thanks."

Castle stared at Kate as she snapped her phone closed and then turned and headed back in the other direction. She stopped and turned back around. "You coming, Castle?"

Castle quickly joined her, his confusion written all over his face. He knew where they were headed, but he felt the need to ask her anyways. "Back to the precinct?"

"Yeah, I'll explain everything when we get there." Beckett replied, a look of sheer determination in her eyes.

Castle grinned at her confidence and they made their way back to the precinct at a record pace.


	12. Chapter 12

_**This is another long chapter, the final interrogation where all will be revealed!**_

_**I hope you enjoy the wrap-up of the case in this chapter as we near the end of the story itself.**_

_**As always, reviews are always welcome, so please feel free to share your thoughts!**_

_**Chapter Thirteen will be a short one, but I think you'll all enjoy it. I'm trying my best to get it posted before or during the weekend, but we'll see how that goes.**_

_**Also, Chapter Fourteen will be the last in this story… the long-awaited book release party for "Naked Heat"… I thought it would be a great way to end the 'episode' here, with no more case-talk and no investigation, just good ol' Caskett & Co. moments! This one may take a while longer before it's done and ready to post, so I apologize in advance for the wait…**_

_**And now, I bring you:**_

Chapter Twelve

It was another early morning at the 12th Precinct, and the lack of sleep was evident on Beckett's face as she sat at her desk, looking over the case file one last time. Castle entered the bullpen, duel coffees in hand, and approached Beckett.

"Good morning, detective." He greeted her, incredibly cheery considering the early hour. Castle handed Beckett a coffee and she took a sip.

"Thanks, Castle, I definitely needed that." She replied, looking up at him.

The pair watched as Ryan and Esposito entered the bullpen, escorting Sean and Angela into their respective interrogation rooms. The two young detectives exited the rooms a minute later and made their way to Beckett's desk.

Esposito took one look at Kate and smirked. "Late night?" He asked, suggestively looking between Castle and Beckett.

Beckett glared back at him before responding. "We were on our way home last night…" She began, pausing when she noticed the grin on Ryan and Esposito's faces as she made that comment. "To our _separate_ homes…" She clarified, glaring at the younger detectives before she continued. "We were going over some of the facts of the case and I realized that this one key piece of evidence had been staring us in the faces this whole time."

"So we came back here and went over everything again, piecing together how the whole weekend actually played out and BAM!" Castle exclaimed. "Case closed." He was grinning ear-to-ear.

Beckett shook her head, though she had to fight pretty hard to keep herself from laughing at his enthusiasm. "Well, not quite, Castle." She replied, her comment drawing confused looks from her three partners. She nodded at the interrogation rooms as she continued. "The evidence is still circumstantial. We need to get a confession from our killer."

Ryan and Esposito looked over at each other. "And who would that be, exactly?" Ryan asked, as if asking for the both of them.

* * *

The interrogation room door opened quickly as Beckett and Castle entered the room. Kate made sure to slam the door shut for good measure. The young man sitting at the table shuddered at the sound.

"Have I introduced you to my partner, Sean?" Beckett asked, a stern look on her face. Sean shook his head, intimidation taking away his ability to speak for a moment. "This is Rick Castle." Beckett continued, gesturing towards Castle.

Sean looked over at him. "As in Rick Castle, the author?" He asked, making the connection.

Castle grinned, clearly amused by the recognition. "In the flesh." He replied.

Beckett sat down across from Sean and folded her hands in front of her. "Castle here is great at telling stories." She began, earning another grin from Castle as he sat down beside her. "Me, I'm pretty good at telling them too." She continued, focusing her glare at the young man across from her. "And I've got one for you, Mr. Michaels."

Sean shifted in his seat as Beckett took a deep breath before continuing.

"Five of you entered that house hoping for a good time. One last fun, relaxing weekend together before you all had to head back to school." She began. "But one of you had much bigger plans. Darker plans."

Beckett studied Sean's expression as he listened intently. "When you arrived, each of you separated to your own rooms to unpack. Jessica made her way to your room, tried to seduce you, and you turned her down. She left, absolutely devastated."

Sean winced at the thought.

"Not long after, Chris barged into Angela's room and they had an altercation. Nicole overheard and broke it up before Chris could let his temper take it a little too far."

Beckett watched as Sean's jaw clenched at the mention of Chris getting physically abusive with Angela.

"Chris went to talk to Jessica and she told him she wanted to back out of their plan. They argued, but Chris talked her into giving it a little more time before she gave up. He left, and she was still very much alive."

Sean was now hanging on the detective's every word. He shifted again in his seat as she continued.

"Once Chris had left, someone else came to see Jessica. She didn't pay much attention to them, at least not enough to notice the letter opener that they were concealing. When she turned her back, just for a minute, they attacked her. One quick stab of the letter opener in just the right spot and Jessica was dead."

Sean swallowed, leaning back in his chair and running his hand through his short hair.

"They left her there to be discovered later on. Angela checked Jessica's pulse and confirmed she was dead. Chris convinced a few of you that it was just part of the game, even though he knew for a fact that there was no game."

Sean nodded in agreement. "Exactly, because he killed Jessica. And he wanted us all to stick around so he could take us all out, one by one."

Beckett took a deep breath, her composure unchanged, as she continued with her story. "Chris figured he could draw the real killer out by throwing them for a loop."

Sean shook his head.

"So he went to see Thomas later that night, the resident prankster. He convinced Tom that Jessica was really alive and it was all part of the game. He told Tom that he had come up with a plan and that, with his help, the two of them could solve the mystery together and win the game."

Sean settled back into his chair, again hanging on the detective's every word.

"Early in the morning, Tom went to see Chris, before anyone else was up. Or so they thought. Tom used his trick knife and stage blood to make it look like Chris had been stabbed to death. Then he went back to his room and waited until he heard everyone else getting up. When you all found Chris the way you did, Tom made it a point to be the one to check for a pulse, just to make sure that nobody else would figure out that Chris was really alive and well."

"What he didn't know," Castle jumped in, "was that the real killer already knew what was going on. And they really didn't like it."

Beckett turned her attention away from Sean to look over at Castle, her eyebrow raised as she shook her head at him.

"Sorry." Castle replied. "It's your story, you go ahead and tell it." He motioned for her to turn back around.

Beckett rolled her eyes as she turned her attention back to Sean. She took a deep breath and continued. "When the four of you decided to separate into pairs, the killer knew they couldn't strike again or they'd be suspected for sure. So they waited for the right time."

Sean shifted in his chair.

"When you left Tom alone in the house, you had to know he was a sitting duck." Beckett paused, studying Sean's expression as it turned grim.

Sean shook his head and ran his hand through his hair again. He fumbled with his words. "But he was the one who told me I should go, to check on the girls in case something happened to them…" He trailed off.

"Of course he did." Beckett replied. "He needed to find Chris, to let him know what was going on."

Sean leaned back in his chair again.

"But the killer was already suspicious of this. They waited until Tom figured the coast was clear and headed into Chris' room to find him. They snuck into Tom's room, grabbed his noose, and followed him into Chris' room. Chris was already gone, having left to investigate, following the person he suspected. Meanwhile, the real killer snuck up behind Tom, the room being too dark for Tom to notice. Before he knew it, his noose was around his neck. He struggled to fight off his attacker, but Tom wasn't exactly the strongest guy, and his struggling only made him use up his oxygen faster."

Beckett paused to let Sean take in what she had said, watching as his breathing became quicker and shallower.

"Once Tom was dead, the killer dragged him back to his own room and hung him from his ceiling fan, just for the added effect."

Sean shook his head and ran his hands through his hair. "I keep telling you, detective, it was Chris. It had to be him. The rest of us were accounted for when Tom was killed."

Beckett grinned and leaned in closer to the young man. "That's not true, Mr. Michaels, now is it?"

Sean shook his head, alarmed at the accusation. "If you're implying that it was me…" He replied as a bead of sweat broke out on his forehead.

"Relax, Sean, we know it wasn't you." Castle cut in.

Sean breathed a sigh of relief.

"You said you left Tom alone to go find the girls." Beckett began again. "Where did you find them?"

"They said they were going to check the gates first, see if they could figure out how to get them open." Sean replied. He paused, searching his memory for the details. "Only…" His eyes widened at the thought that had just now crossed his mind.

"You didn't find them together." Beckett finished his thought, studying the young man's expression as his face paled.

"No." He replied, his voice dry and wavering.

Beckett leaned back in her chair as she waited for the truth to sink in for Sean.

The young man shook his head and ran his hands through his hair one last time. "It's not possible, detective…" He started, fumbling with the words.

Castle watched intently as Beckett changed her tone, softening her voice in order to help Sean understand.

"Think about it, Sean." She started. "After you found Tom dead in his room, who's idea was it for the three of you to separate?" She let her question sink in before she continued. "And when you heard the glass shatter when Nicole was shoved through the window, who was out in the hallway first?"

All of the colour had left Sean's face as he looked up at the detective, his eyes showing both his pain and his horror. He swallowed the lump in his throat before her responded to Beckett. "It was Angie."

* * *

"That's a fascinating story, detective." Angela started intently at Beckett as she sat across the table from her.

Castle watched intently. He always loved how Beckett handled herself in the interrogation room. Even when she was up against suspects that Castle would never want to meet in a dark alley, she always stood her ground and never faltered. Watching her interrogate a suspect that she knew was guilty was like watching an intense game of tennis, and this morning's match was one of the best. As worthy an opponent as Angela had proven to be, he knew Beckett would win, just as she always did. He waited anxiously for one of them to make their next move.

A cold grin spread across Angela's face, and she broke the silence. "You know, it's just too bad you don't have a shred of evidence to actually back up your elaborate theory."

Beckett smirked confidently at the young woman and leaned back in her chair. Castle watched as Kate pulled out an evidence bag from her coat pocket and dangled it in front of Angela.

The handcuffs.

Castle smiled as he saw Angela's grin fade and her eyes narrow, just for a moment.

Beckett dropped the bag onto the table in front of her and pushed it towards Angela. "I couldn't help but wonder why it was that you would have taken these?" Beckett began. "Unless, of course, you already had a plan for what to do with them."

_There's the serve…_ Castle thought to himself.

Angela maintained her composure, but the short pause she took before answering was enough to give her away. "I saw them in Tom's room earlier that weekend." She began, looking directly at Beckett as she spoke. "Before the murders started." She added.

Beckett leaned back and propped one of her elbows up on the top of her chair's backrest, raising an eyebrow at her suspect, inviting her to continue.

_Here comes the return…_ Castle thought as he waited for Angela to speak.

The young woman stared intently at the detective. "I thought it might be fun to turn the tables on Tom, show him what it's like to have someone play a lame prank on him." Angela replied. "So while he was unpacking his other bags, I swiped them."

Castle looked over at Angela. "And you conveniently still had them with you the next night, after everything that had happened?" He asked, sarcastically.

Angela glared at him and then turned back to face Beckett, who was still studying her every move. "I must have forgotten them in my coat pocket." She explained. "When Chris threw me to the ground outside after Sean and I tried to escape, they fell out. Once I had knocked him out with that rock, I saw them laying there. It seemed like the perfect idea to use them to make sure he couldn't get away and either come after us or make a run for it himself." She paused again before she continued. "I figured if we left him for you guys to arrest once Sean and I could go get help, then he'd get what he deserved."

Beckett straightened in her chair before she spoke. "I just have one last question, Ms. Porter…" She started.

Beckett smirked at Angela as Castle watched her intently. _Here we go… _He chuckled to himself.

"How could you have had those handcuffs with you all weekend when Sean specifically saw Thomas pack them in his bag just minutes before he was murdered?" Beckett asked, knowing she wasn't going to wait for the answer. "The only way you could have gotten them was if you were in his room after Sean left him alone. After you murdered him and dragged him back to his room to hang his lifeless body up on display."

_Game, Set, Match_… Castle grinned.

Angela's composure fell apart immediately. Her eyes narrowed at the detective and then lowered to the table, frantically searching for a response.

The young woman opened her mouth to speak, but Beckett cut her off. "I get it, Angela, I do."

She needed a confession, she needed to break her suspect. Beckett made sure that Angela was focused back on her again, keeping eye contact to draw her in before she continued. "All you wanted was Sean. Deep down, you always knew that, but part of you was too scared to do anything about it. Then, not long ago, you finally decided to take that leap of faith and go after what you wanted. Nothing was going to stand in your way, was it?"

Castle watched intently as Beckett drew an unconscious nod from Angela. She held back her grin as she pressed on. "Jessica was just a spoiled rich brat, always getting whatever she wanted because mommy and daddy had all the money in the world to give to her. She thought she could flash her smile and toss her blonde hair at Sean and he'd come running. It didn't matter that he was crazy about you or that you were trying to make it work with him too, all she cared about was herself and getting what she wanted, even if she had to stab you in the back along the way."

Angela was hanging on Beckett's every word, somewhat captivated by how well she seemed to understand the situation. Castle was as well, waiting for Beckett to continue.

"And Nicole, she betrayed you in the worst possible way." Beckett began again, eliciting another unaware nod from her suspect. "Betrayal is tough. You think you really know someone, you believe you can trust them, and you allow them to become a part of you. And then, without warning, they destroy every last piece of that, shattering your heart and soul like glass."

Beckett leaned back in her chair, taking another pause and a deep breath before she continued. "As for Chris, well he was just an arrogant ass. A real charmer, a ladies' man, but he knew it and he flaunted it. The nerve of him to just assume that you'd fall all over him, like you were one of his groupies. And when you turned him down, what did he do? He pinned you against the wall like he was your prisoner."

Angela's jaw clenched and her eyes narrowed at the thought. Beckett didn't wait long this time before she added, "He got what he deserved, didn't he?."

Angela nodded again.

"And Tom… Well, he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, wasn't he?" Beckett paused. "Just a casualty of the war…" She trailed off.

Castle watched in awe as Beckett had her suspect hooked.

"I mean, really, you couldn't wait for fate to run its course, could you?" Beckett smiled at the young woman. "You had to take matters into your own hands…"

Angela stared back at Beckett, a coldness in her eyes that made Castle uneasy but didn't seem to phase the detective. "Yes…" Angela replied, quietly but with an edge in her voice.

"Yes?" Beckett asked, prodding her. She raised her voice and repeated herself. "Yes what?"

"I made things happen." Angela exclaimed, raising her voice to meet Beckett's. The young woman leaned across the table so she was inches away from the detective. "They all got what they deserved." She hissed at Beckett as she got up out of her chair.

Worried, Castle began to get up as well. Beckett reached her hand out and pushed lightly on his shoulder to stop him, remaining still aside from that quick movement. Her eyes never left Angela's.

She motioned towards the one-way mirror and Esposito entered the room, making his way over behind the victim and putting her in handcuffs.

Beckett rose from her chair and stared intently at the killer in front of her. "You're going to get what you deserve too, Ms. Porter. A lifetime behind bars."

The detective picked up the evidence bag from the table and started making her way out of the room, Castle following suit. She stopped at the door and turned back to face Angela one more time.

Beckett grinned. "You still fascinated by my story? Or do you not care much for the ending?"

Castle smirked. "I quite liked it, myself." He replied. "Almost poetic."

He and Beckett smiled at each other before they exited the room together, Esposito taking his cue. "Angela Porter, you have the right to remain silent…" He said as he escorted Angela from the room.


	13. Chapter 13

_**I always adore the fantastic use of subtext on the show, and I really wanted to take a stab at a scene that centered around that, so here it is. It's a short one, but I hope you enjoy it, especially as a nice break from the heavy case scenes that it's following! It's also just a little set-up for the next chapter with the long-awaited book release party!  
**_

**_Chapter Fourteen will be the final chapter, but it will be a little while before I have it done to my liking, so I apologize in advance for the wait and I certainly hope it'll be worth it when it does get posted..._**

**_Until then: _**

Chapter Thirteen

Beckett sat at her desk, finishing up the paperwork for the case. Castle sat in his usual seat at the edge of the desk, watching her in silence. Ryan and Esposito entered the bullpen and made their way over to the pair.

"Angela's been booked." Esposito stated. "And Sean's on his way home."

Ryan shook his head. "Poor guy." He added. "I don't think he'll ever be the same."

Captain Montgomery approached the foursome. "Good work, detectives." He looked over at Castle. "You too, Castle."

Castle grinned. "It's good to be home." He replied.

"You know, it's cases like this that confirm how crazy the world really is." Esposito added. "Four people are dead, cut down at such a young age, and the one survivor is going to need years of therapy to even begin to get on with his life."

"Yeah." Ryan agreed. "All because of Angela's supposed love for Sean."

The five of them pondered that thought for a moment before Beckett broke the silence. "That's not love. Love is being okay with not getting what you want if it makes someone else happy in the end. Conceding when you have to so you don't cause anybody the kind of pain that comes from blindly fighting for something without thinking of the consequences. Putting their needs ahead of your own."

Castle looked at Beckett. "They say all's fair in love and war, detective. You don't believe that?"

Beckett smirked. "I believe there shouldn't be casualties where love is concerned, Castle." She maintained eye contact with him as she continued. "If fighting for what you want ends up hurting the person you care about, it's not a fight worth waging."

Ryan, Esposito, and Montgomery watched the pair in front of them as they debated.

"So you'd rather just give up?" Castle asked.

Beckett shook her head. "It's not about giving up, Castle. It's about picking your battles, knowing when it's time to fight and when it's time to put the gloves down." She paused, looking down at her desk before she continued. "Sometimes it just takes a little work. Sometimes there's no easy way. But if you're sure of what you want, and you're sure your intentions are right, there's always a way to get there if you just stick it out. Sometimes it just takes time." She looked back up at him as she finished. "If it's really worth the fight, you just need to be willing to stand in there and take your punches for a few rounds."

Beckett held Castle's gaze for a moment before turning back to her paperwork. Castle watched her, a grin slowly creeping over his face. He looked down at his watch and jumped up from his seat, the four others looking over at his quick movement.

"I should get going." Castle stated.

Esposito crossed his arms. "Hot lunch date, bro?" He asked, jokingly, making sure to glance over at Beckett to judge her reaction.

A seasoned pro already, Kate kept her focus on her paperwork, knowing better than to give anything away that the younger detective could use against her.

Castle shook his head. "Actually, mother is picking up Alexis from the airport this afternoon, and I want to get home before they do, make sure she gets a proper homecoming." Castle smiled at the thought.

Beckett couldn't help but grin a little as well.

Castle grabbed his coat from the back of the chair. "Don't forget, though, the book release party is tonight." He reminded them. "You're all still coming, aren't you?"

The four cops all nodded in agreement.

"Great. I'll see you then." He said, as he turned to leave.

Castle was all smiles as he made his way out of the bullpen. He looked back on his way, seeing Montgomery and the boys scatter as soon as he was gone. He smiled as he swore he saw Beckett look up at him and then lower her eyes again. Castle laughed to himself, now smiling from ear to ear. He couldn't wait for tonight.


	14. Chapter 14

_**Sorry this has taken so long to post, but I wasn't entirely happy with the original ending and was racking my brain for better ideas. **_

_**After getting so caught up in the spoiler season over the past few weeks, I realized I had gotten a little side-tracked from my writing. Oops. **_

_**It actually worked out well, though, as I opted to throw in some references to some of these spoilers, just for fun, and managed to work one possible one into the actual plotline here as well and decided that it would now solve my earlier problem! **_

_**I hope the chapter / scene works for all of you and that the ending has the intended impact that I was going for.**_

_**As always, reviews are most appreciated!**_

_**And now, FINALLY, the closing chapter:**_

Chapter Fourteen

The elegant room was filled with a barrage of well-dressed people, drinks in hand, as the steady murmur of conversation mixed with the soft music and radiated from wall to wall. A barrage of New York's elite, members of the publishing community, media personnel, excited Castle fans, and some familiar faces from the NYPD mingled together while the champagne flowed freely.

The author of the hour worked his way through the crowd, signing autographs and charming each of the guests that he stopped briefly to thank for coming. He scanned the room anxiously, finally catching the eye of his mother. Martha smiled at her son and tipped her glass of champagne towards him. Castle excused himself from the conversation and made his way over to her.

"Congratulations, Richard, this is quite a turnout." Martha said to him, beaming with pride.

Castle smiled. "Thank you, mother." He replied, looking around. "I thought Chet was joining you this evening." He questioned.

Martha sipped her drink and nodded. "Well, Alexis and I made plans to get ready together earlier, so Chet said he would meet us here." She frowned a bit as she glanced towards the main entrance. "Actually, he should have been here by now." She stated.

"Speaking of my darling daughter," Castle began. "Where did she run off to?"

As if on cue, Alexis joined them at their table. "Sorry, I was stopped by a couple of reporters on the way in." She stated, rolling her eyes at the thought.

Castle grinned. "Really?" He began. "Did they ask you what it was like to be the daughter of one of the most brilliant writers of our time?" He asked, smugly.

"As always." Alexis replied. A mischievous grin spread across her face as she continued. "So I told them they must have me mistaken for someone else, that I'm actually just Richard Castle's daughter." She finished, beaming as her father nodded in appreciation of her joke.

"Well played." Castle conceded, wrapping his arms around Alexis.

The young girl's cell phone emitted a playful _beep_ and she opened it quickly. A smile spread across her face again. Castle looked over at her and cranked his neck trying to see what she was smiling at. Alexis pulled the phone away and began to type away on it.

"Ah, technology." Martha remarked with a disapproving tone in her voice. "You know, in my day, when we wanted to talk to someone, we talked to them. Nowadays it's all texting and emailing, a complete lack of personal connection."

Castle studied the smile on Alexis' face as she waited for a response on her phone. "Who could you possibly want to talk to right now more than us?" Castle asked her, mockingly.

Alexis' eyes darted between her father and grandmother. "Oh, just a friend that I met at Princeton." She replied.

Martha nodded her head in understanding and sipped her drink.

"And what is this _friend_'s name?" Castle asked, somewhat accusingly.

After a brief pause, Alexis responded. "Ashley." She said, forcing a smile in the hopes of hiding the fear that was running through her.

Castle grinned, content with her answer. "Well, it seems like you two must have hit it off this summer. I'd like to meet her sometime."

Alexis looked over at Martha, who raised a knowing eyebrow at her granddaughter. As she opened her mouth to reply, a familiar voice pierced through the crowd.

"Rick!" Paula shouted as she bustled through the room towards Castle and his family.

Castle smiled at his agent. "Paula, you remember my mother, Martha, and my daughter, Alexis?" He said, motioning to the two lovely ladies in his company.

"Sure." She replied, brushing them both off just as quickly as she had arrived. "Listen, Rick, we need to talk business for a minute."

Castle took a deep breath and looked over at his mother and daughter. Both knew enough that this was their cue to leave.

Alexis was the first to speak up. "I'm just going to see if I can get better reception outside. Excuse me." She said politely as she hurried away.

"Yes, and I should see what's taking Chet so long." Martha added.

Castle smiled at his mother. "What happened to showing him that you aren't always just going to be waiting around for him?" He asked.

Martha laughed. "I spent all summer doing that, kiddo, and I realized I really didn't want to waste any more time playing games. Every moment counts, you know."

Castle nodded, a slight twinkle in his eye. "I know exactly what you mean, mother."

Martha tipped her glass towards him again before heading off towards the lobby.

Paula wasted no time getting down to business. "Well, Rick, you've really outdone yourself this time." She started. "Heat Wave was a huge hit for you, we're in talks to get you involved in the screenplay for the movie, and now Naked Heat is about to be released..."

Castle looked back at her, stunned. "Did you say 'screenplay'?" He asked, the shock written all over his face. "Paula, I've never written a screenplay before. And I'm having a hard enough time keeping up with my writing as it is." He started to say, stumbling over his words.

"Calm down, Rick, they don't want you to write the thing, just be involved in the process." Paula confirmed, putting Castle's mind at ease. "They want to stay true to your novel, so they want you to be involved in the rewrites."

Castle smiled. "I'd love that." He started, pausing with a concerned look crossing his face as he thought of something. "Would I have to go to L.A. to do that?" He asked.

Paula studied his expression before responding. "You'll be able to do all of it from home, for now, over conference calls and email and whatnot."

"Ah, technology." Castle replied, an approving tone in his voice.

Paula continued to watch his expression, knowing full-well why he was so hesitant to leave. "So where is she?" She asked, causing Castle to break his train of thought and turn back to her, confused. "Your _inspiration_?" She prodded, mockingly.

Just as Castle opened his mouth to respond, the crowd of reporters and journalists made a mad rush towards the entrance, cameras flashing and the conversation buzzing.

Kate entered the room, capturing the attention of just about everyone there, not only because she was easily recognized as the inspiration for Nikki Heat, but also because she looked absolutely stunning. She was sure she would never get used to all of this attention, and she blushed as she made her way slowly through the crowd, lenses and recording devices surrounding her. She stopped to talk to a few reporters and answered their questions as best she could. As much as she just wanted to get into the room and enjoy her evening out, she knew this was important for Castle and for his fans. She was, after all, one of them.

Captain Montgomery appeared by her side, helping to escort her away from the media and over to one of the tables in the room where they were greeted by Ryan, Esposito, and Lanie.

Castle watched, smiling, as the table full of his partners and friends seemed to be enjoying their night so far.

"Listen, just promise me one thing…" Paula's words snapped him out of his daze. "Promise me you won't screw this up." She continued, smirking.

Castle looked over at his agent, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Paula laughed. "I've known you for a long time, Rick. I was even at both of your weddings, remember?" She asked.

Castle nodded, not sure where she was going with this. "Yes, I remember. As I recall, the 'open bar' wasn't as open by the time you were done with it." He chuckled.

Paula glared at him before she continued. "As I was saying, I've known you for a long time. And I've never seen you look at another woman the way you've been looking at her ever since she walked in the door." She pointed towards Kate, a suggestive look in her eyes.

Castle smirked.

"So, like I said, Rick, don't screw this up." Paula added.

Castle looked over at his agent and laughed. "Are you getting soft on me, Paula?" He asked, amused at her sudden concern for his happiness.

Paula shook her head and chuckled. "Rick, you've written a bestselling novel that's being made into a movie now, with a second book about to be released to rave reviews, and two more on the way in this deal I landed for you." She grinned. "She's obviously one heck of a muse to you, and it's paying off for both of us." She paused, lightly slapping him in the chest. "So, one more time, don't screw this up."

Castle laughed as Paula walked away towards the bar. He looked over at Beckett and smiled.

"So, what do you guys think?" Castle asked as he strolled up to the table where the homicide team sat, laughing and enjoying their evening.

Lanie was the first to speak up. "You definitely know how to throw a party, that's for sure."

Ryan and Esposito nodded in agreement. "Yeah, bro, this is pretty sweet." Esposito stated.

"I could definitely get used to this life." Ryan added.

Montgomery raised his glass towards the writer. "Congratulations, Castle, it looks like you're about to have another bestseller on your hands."

Castle smiled. "Well, I couldn't have done it without you guys, so thank you." He replied. "Cheers" he added, raising his own glass and waiting for the rest of the team to follow along.

Once they were done with their toast, Castle quietly moved towards Beckett. She felt him gently place his hand on the small of her back and she tensed slightly, somewhat startled by it. Castle turned to her, almost whispering. "If you have a minute, I'd like to show you something."

Beckett nodded, her voice unable to find itself in that moment. Castle gestured towards the centre of the room and Beckett turned to walk with him. He led her to one of the tables filled with copies of 'Naked Heat.'

She grinned when she saw the book. "Yeah, I've seen it already. She's not even strategically holding a gun this time, Castle." She said, mockingly.

Castle frowned. "So I take it you're not going to be a fan of the posters then…" He replied.

"Posters?" Beckett's brow furrowed, her eyes almost burning into Castle's.

Castle shook his head, trying to change the subject. "That's not what I was going to show you, though." He recovered quickly. He reached for one of the copies of the book and opened it up to the first page, extending it towards Beckett.

She looked at the words on the page in front of her. _To the incredible KB; my inspiration, my partner, my champion. May you always get what your heart wants._

Kate swallowed hard as she tried to keep her composure. Castle studied her expression, trying to see if the words she had read had affected her.

She smiled and he smiled at the sight.

Castle closed the book and set it back down on the table. Beckett looked over at him. "Castle, I…" She searched for the right words, still a little overwhelmed. "Thank you." It was about all she could muster and she immediately regretted that. He had such a way with words and she never seemed to know what to say herself.

"Well, I meant every word of it, detective." Castle replied.

Kate held his gaze, eyes locked as they inched closer, unknowingly and unintentionally.

Castle was the first to break the silence. "Listen, I was thinking…" He started.

Beckett chuckled softly and rolled her eyes. She knew what this usually led to and she wasn't about to fall for it again. Her brow furrowed when she realized their case was closed, wondering if maybe this _I was thinking_ was going to end differently than the others. She looked back up at Castle as he continued.

"I know this may not be the best time or place." He began, suddenly seeming very serious. "But I just want you to know, no matter how long it takes…" He paused again, smiling when he remembered her words. "No matter how many rounds we have to go, no matter how many punches I need to take, I'm just going to keep standing in this ring, detective." He grinned.

Beckett swallowed hard, completely thrown by his words again. She hated that he had this effect on her, that he could render her speechless so easily. On the other hand, part of her loved it, lived for it. She tried to tell herself to stop standing there, to say something or do something, anything to let him know what she was thinking and feeling at that very moment. She opened her mouth to reply.

"Sorry to interrupt." Esposito chimed in, Ryan right beside him.

Beckett exhaled deeply as she broke away from Castle's gaze, turning to face the detective as she regained her composure again. As soon as she saw the look on Ryan and Esposito's faces, she knew something was wrong. "What is it?" She asked, the concern evident in her voice.

"We got a call from one of our uniform buddies." Esposito replied.

"A murder?" Castle asked, almost a little too excited.

Ryan shook his head. "Not exactly." He started, pausing as he tried to find the words.

Castle looked puzzled. "So why'd he call us?" He asked.

Beckett noticed the Ryan and Esposito's reluctance to speak up and knew something was very wrong. "Esposito, what is it?"

Esposito looked over at Castle and then Beckett before he replied. "It's your mother's boyfriend, Chet. There was an accident. He's in the ICU at the hospital." He paused, looking over at Castle. "I'm sorry, bro, he's in pretty rough shape right now, they don't think he's gonna make it."

Castle and Beckett both looked at Esposito and Ryan, then at each other.

_**Fade to black… roll credits… the episode is over.**_

_**Okay, so I know that's definitely not how Season Three will start, but it would have been interesting!**_

_**Thank you so much for reading and for all of your reviews, and hopefully I'll have time to get another story going soon enough!**_


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